


Reuniting

by Lisilgirl



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Family, Meet-Cute, Seventh Heaven (Compilation of FFVII)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 03:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21313285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisilgirl/pseuds/Lisilgirl
Summary: "There was a moment of shocked silence. After a split second, the anger in the air faded into delighted surprise. Cloud's hard eyes suddenly seemed younger as an expression of something fit over his face. Instantly a sunny grin spread across Tifa's face." Cloud and Tifa just happen to run into each other after years apart. [MarlenexDenzel][CloudxTifa]
Relationships: Denzel & Marlene Wallace, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 3
Kudos: 45





	1. where did you come from and why can't I stop thinking about you?

_One Mako reactor, two Mako reactor, three Mako reactor..._

Denzel studied the agonizingly slow clock. The second hand ticked away as he counted in his head, lips subconsciously moving.

At the count of sixty, he gently set his solemn face back into his skinny arms, chocolate hair flopping. He kept his head down as poorly made paper airplanes and spit-wads flew around the room, the teacher ignoring his wild classmates.

Only ten more minutes...

This tiny school under the plate was grimy, the government's way of trying to rebuild. To nobody's surprise, the materials were donated or illegally salvaged in the lumber yards and steel mills by the part-time principal. It was hardly clean; the floors were riddled with dust and mold. Since teachers willing to work for less than twenty gil a day were hard to come by, most of the 'authority' figures were elderly people with squinting eyes and crippled hands. Once in a while, a real teacher would come in to substitute, but they were gone within a few weeks to find something, _anything_ better. There were kids who came from Edge or under the plate in Midgar; like him, they couldn't afford to be driven to above plate elementary or middle schools with the Mako crisis escalating.

Still, school wasn't all bad. He lived for art class. It was usually time for him to daydream and doodle.

A piece of crumpled paper whacked into his head. Narrowing his emerald eyes, he peeked at who was disturbing him.

To his surprise, he found it was Marlene Wallace. She was sitting two rows behind him in between a grease-ball kid and a bratty girl. Cute little Marlene with her soft brown hair, cute nose, nice eyes, colorful dresses...

She was smiling directly at him.

He smiled back, and glanced away.

Marlene had always been nice to him. She was friendly and curious, often talking to him in the mornings as they sat on the steps in the flickering electrical lights before school began. She always arrived early to school for some reason. He was only there because Cloud had deliveries in Midgar all morning and dropped him off along the way to clients. Denzel listened to her, but sometimes he couldn't keep up with her adult words, ideas, and the way she smiled at him. It made him feel like a real person.

The boy unsuccessfully tried to ignore everything else by drumming his fingers on the edge of the desk. Thick bound books fell off the rickety shelves. The chairs scraped along the ancient tile as kids jumped off, trying to touch the roof. The teacher walked out and slammed the door. Drifting mentally away from the school, Denzel let himself become sleepy.

Soon, he'd be home with his dad...

Suddenly there was a loud bang barely a centimeter away from his hand, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. In surprise, his eyes jerked up.

It was Elizabeth with her dull hair and thin, chapped lips; three other girls in mismatched outfits stood behind her like sentries, sneering in his direction. The tormentor's beady blue eyes, ready to cause discomfort, brightened at her new victim, and as she leaned closer to him, she raised her eyebrows.

"Hey Denzel...we were talking about you. Isn't your dad unemployed?"

He froze.

Denzel struggled not to leap to his feet and race out of the classroom. His hands had turned into ice as they gripped his green backpack filled with homework. Even his blood felt chilled at the odd feeling of defiance and shame coursing through him.

Denzel's eyes narrowed, and he coldly stated, "No."

As if she knew the pain she had caused her fellow classmate, Elizabeth grinned like a champion. Satisfaction spread throughout the brat's entire body as she threw her head back and laughed.

"Because!" Elizabeth sneered, "Your coat is falling apart! And don't get me started on your lack of hygiene. Your hair could probably house a bunch of rats in it!" Triumphantly, she crossed her arms over her small chest, "That means you obviously don't have any money!"

Denzel felt the flush of shame. It cut deep.

His mouth opened, but nothing came out, not even a lie.

Then...

"Elizabeth, why are you being so mean? We're all from under the plate. Even you."

The boy blinked.

The snobby girl in front of him tensed. Irritation filled her eyes as she whipped around. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she yelled, "Shut up!" Fiddling with the edge of her shabby backpack, she stared at the floor.

Denzel gazed in awe.

There she was. Marlene. Standing two feet away from Elizabeth, her eyes were fierce, like a lion. Even the sides of her mouth were turned down, clearly declaring that she was not a friend to this little hellion. A few giggles were apparent in the swarm of girls behind her, and to his disbelief, Marlene was glaring outright. She said, "Don't pick on anyone." Simple. Blunt. Admirable.

What was she doing?

Shyly, Denzel smiled.

Her eyes focused on his for a split second of hope. The world lit up with Marlene's wicked smile. He timidly shielded his face, another shy smile forming.

Scarlet spread across Elizabeth's cheeks as she whipped around, accusing, "Well...your sister is a bar-tender! You're just as poor."

"No, she runs a successful business. It's not just for booze," Marlene retorted, face completely red. Despite the brave tone in her voice, the girl looked unsure, "Everyone but you is welcome at Seventh Heaven."

The bell exploded with noise.

Guilt made Denzel lower his head back down. Marlene had stuck up for him. He wasn't sure how it made him feel. Gathering his things as the girls stared each other down, he followed the crowd before either Elizabeth or his unexpected savior could even detect him.

The hall was a mess; the dust was layered over old metal sheets that served as the binding for the walls. There were no lockers, colorful drawings, or drinking fountains like above-plate, only a cramped office window with bars screwed over the opening. The cardboard sign had a scrawled note of "OUT" depicting where the principal was.

Dodging his fellow classmates by the office, he walked to the doors in the huge crowd. More people ran past him screaming or shouting, jostling him out of the way. A blast of warm air met him and he shivered in pleasure before high-tailing it down the concrete steps onto the dried, dead grass.

It was a warm day, with a soft breeze blowing. The schoolyard was swarming with children; most of the kids walked home or caught the one battered yellow bus from here. Overhead, the fallen plate was a looming omen, frightening in the surreal outline of its sharp, bombed edges...

"Denzel!"

He stopped, turning to face the little girl elbowing her way past older classmates with a scowl. Marlene's flush face seemed even brighter out in the open. Denzel held his breath as she ran to his side. He wasn't good at talking to girls.

"Denzel!" she huffed, "I just want to tell you that you should come over sometime. We can color or walk down the street or play hide-and-seek and other stuff." Without even flinching, she patted his shoulder. She grinned. "Ask your dad, okay?"

Denzel's heart was going about three times too fast in anxiety. "Uh..."

Those sparkling eyes winked. "It's fine if you don't want to. Really. I am glad you even talk to me, Denzel," her voice continued as if she had picked up on his embarrassment. It probably wasn't hard with his beet-red face. "Can I talk to you tomorrow morning?"

_This is it._ "Sure." Denzel felt his voice crack. It would be good to speak with Marlene, or at least listen to her.

The pressure of her fingers faded. "Thanks!"

The discussion was over before he could even blink. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. When she pulled back, she simply said, "See you tomorrow!" Clacking her black shoes together, the girl bounced halfway across the dried, yellow grass.

His fingers tightened on the strap for his backpack as his feet automatically began trudging towards the street.

"Denzel!"

He eagerly looked up.

There was Cloud near the sidewalk, standing taller than most of the kid's parents, younger than most. With his bright blue eyes and thick blonde hair, he stuck out in a sea of dark haired people. His relaxed posture immediately made Denzel feel better.

The boy began waved his free hand while running across the dusty, fried grass. Quietly, he swung his backpack toward the ground (more towards Fenrir) and approached his idol, waiting for the familiar side hug. "Hey!" Cloud Strife murmured roughly, ruffling Denzel's scruffy hair. One strong hand ran across his adopted son's shoulders proudly.

"Hey," Denzel said quietly.

Cloud began walking with him as an equal towards the road, stooping to grab the green backpack. "Do you want to go for a drive later? Get lunch at Reno's?" Gently, he took Denzel's shoulder in his hand and nudged him in the direction of Fenrir, the shimmering black motorcycle. It was a beautiful machine, all smooth and sharp at the same time.

The image of Elizabeth sneering down at him filled his head. _Poor._ Denzel's heart clenched.

Frowning, Denzel asked, "Can we just go home?"

Cloud's eyes, the color of hot mako, flickered in worry; Denzel saw it and gulped. His adoptive father didn't miss anything. A small, fake smile twitched across the boy's face. "I think you should get pizza tonight. I have homework."

A crack in the sidewalk made Denzel stumble slightly. Unbeknownst to him, the blonde haired man shook his head in slight amusement, twirling his keys from his fingers. "Yea. We can do that." Pulling down his glasses from his forehead, he threw a leg over Fenrir, revving it powerfully before pulling Denzel on the back with one gentle hand.

"Ready, bud?"

Denzel put his arms in their customary places around Cloud's stomach.

"Ready," he said.

Checking for any nonexistent traffic behind him, Cloud nodded, "Then hang on." With a squeal of tires and a thrum from the engine, they were off, and Denzel was clutching on for dear life.

XXX

Sitting on his bed, Denzel stared at his green jacket on the floor. The left sleeve was tattered, the right almost completely split in half, and the hood had been ripped. It was his favorite. He looked around his small room. The dusty air was slipping through the sun's rays expectantly; the walls were painted with gold. It wasn't old or dirty. The boy let out a sigh and flopped back onto the warm mattress.

He didn't really have any friends. Cloud had filled his once non-exciting life with deliveries and street education and meeting adults for as long as Denzel could remember. There hadn't been a need to go to someone's house to play because Cloud was so much better and let him meet tons of people. He'd rather stay home and talk about bike engines all day while doodling with markers on the huge notebooks that Cloud managed to score from his clients. He'd rather go to Reno's and get sloppy burgers and hot dogs from Rude as Reno and Cloud threw insults at each other. 

So what if he got made fun of in school? It was only for a few hours. Cloud and all his friends were stronger than those kids anyway.

But after having Marlene stick up for him today, he wondered why he hadn't talked to her before school. She was waiting for him in the mornings with her bright smile. He tried to listen, often getting lost in the conversation, and yet she continued to tell him about her (not-so) exciting life.

Marlene.

Did she...like him?

He flushed. Because he thought maybe he liked her. Could he tell her? How? Wouldn't it be weird if he went up to her during the day and-

There was a small slam from the old, wooden bathroom door as Cloud entered the second bedroom. Slight humming and light footsteps came from that general direction.

Denzel tried to quiet his mind, just in case Cloud came in. He rolled over, arm pillowing under his head until it grew numb. He watched the shadows sway back and forth and wondered what Marlene was doing. Her sister worked at a bar, so would she be there, talking with all the people? She could probably get away with it since she was so smiley.

In comparison to Elizabeth, Marlene was perfect. She was funny, and nice, and determined. What would it be like to be friends with her? She would never lie to him. Could they really get together and play at her house? He'd never been to someone's house before. What was it like? Did he have to take food?

"Denzel?"

Immediately, his eyes jerked up into his big brother's bright eyes. Cloud had somehow opened the door without any sound; he stood peering in. The blue orbs blinked. They were curious, but somehow cautious, if he knew how much Denzel had on his mind.

"Hey. How was school?"

"Oh," Denzel said without thinking, trying to remove the uncertainty from his face, "It was okay." _Just not Elizabeth._ He blinked.

Cloud's nose scrunched as he snorted, gently lowering himself to the creaky bed. "All right, all right. My earliest delivery tomorrow cancelled. You can sleep in." Arms reaching out, he wrestled Denzel's unruly hair down.

But Marlene...

It was strange how uncertain he felt about the announcement. Denzel nodded his head, trying to shake off the feeling of disappointment. "Okay." He had wanted to see Marlene before school. Hadn't she said that she'd talk to him? What if they didn't get time to talk? She always ran off after school. Without thinking, he let out a massive sigh, ruffling his long bangs.

The sound was enough for Cloud. He released the boy, a frown already forming as he stood up, shaking out his limbs. Although Cloud was generally quiet, there seemed to be something in his eyes that knew something was wrong. He just was afraid to ask.

"Well..." he waited, but Denzel said nothing. "...good night," Cloud awkwardly said, gripping the doorknob harder than usual. With a final glance, he pulled it shut with a slight click.

Groaning, the boy flung himself back, staring up at the slightly water damaged ceiling tiles. His heart began rapidly pounding with the thought of telling his big brother about what Elizabeth had said. Cloud wouldn't understand. He bet Cloud never had these dumb feelings like that because he was so cool.

Denzel frowned.

Or would he?

He rolled over onto his side. Marlene was so amazing and so much cooler than he was. He couldn't speak to Elizabeth that way because she scared him and...wasn't it true? Weren't all of his clothes ripped and torn after years of wearing them? Didn't the shower pipes have to be banged a few times before the water would get hot? Did Marlene care?

Denzel let out a frustrated groan and punched the pillow. His heart pounded angrily. All these thoughts shot through his head. He would give anything to get rid of his feelings. It was too complicated. And he was nervous. Frightened. _Argh!_ That made him seem like he was a scared little child.

But...

Marlene.

He closed his eyes.

He couldn't see her tomorrow before school. That meant he'd have to talk to her after. He'd tell Cloud to pick him up just a little later.

Everything would work out.

0

0


	2. when will we have the time to be together?

_Denzel is the cutest boy in the class_, Marlene decided.

He sat there in the desk, curly brown hair falling into his eyes, his thin fingers sometimes brushing it away. His face had a certain boyish elegance to it, as if he were wise beyond his years. He was always hiding from the world, and that drew Marlene in.

She hoped she could help him.

Biding her time was hard. First, the homework she had finished early wasn't due until the next day. Second, she'd finished her creased, paper-backed book that morning on the stairs. Third, she was bored. All she could do was idly sit and stare at the back of Denzel's head. She tried to send him brain-waves so he would turn around.

Marlene blinked.

Something was obstructing her view of Denzel.

It was Elizabeth, wearing a dusky gray skirt pulled up artfully in places to give it drapes, and a black shirt fitted to her boobs. Her hair was whisked up into a bun on her head, and it looked like it was pulling her face completely up with it. Dumb.

Not only had Elizabeth made her feel like an idiot in front of Denzel yesterday, but she was blocking her view of him!

Marlene frowned, settling back into the wooden chair. Last night, she hadn't said anything to Tifa about her new enemy. It had seemed so normal and peaceful when she got home that she didn't want to think about it, although she'd blabbered on long enough about Denzel. The regulars, stripped of unnecessary clothes and jackets, had waved over their drinks like usual when the two came in from the boiling sun, asking her what homework the school had in store for her. She complained like ordinary at the math take-aways and brought them over to show off, causing them all to grumble in consent, and nurse those bitter, smooth drinks. Incredibly, it cheered her up.

There wasn't a good reason for Elizabeth to think badly about Seventh Heaven. Tifa had always lived there, and even her daddy had said there wasn't a better place to be found. It was clean. It made money. All of the regulars made her laugh, and helped her with her homework when she pressed them into slaving through the work with her. A lot of them were really smart! It was her home.

Yet in the back of her head, she wondered if Elizabeth was right. Was it just a bar? Would Denzel even like it? She desperately glanced around Elizabeth, who was pointing out mistakes in her friend's reading assignment (rude), trying to see Denzel.

Currently, his fine haired-head was slumped into his worn backpack.

Marlene's head subconsciously drifted down to the exact same position. She debated whether or not to simply go to sleep for the last few minutes.

Denzel hadn't been waiting on the steps this morning like usual. She had always tried to talk to him, because she thought he was cute. She'd never even looked at his clothes. It made her mad that Elizabeth's observations made her notice it now.

Maybe he was embarrassed. It made sense. But he should know that she, Marlene, was incredibly good at not judging. Or at least judging about him. She didn't care about what he seemed. Not really. She just wanted to get to know him.

And he never talked to her! In the mornings, it was awkward trying to get a conversation out of him. He only nodded and if she were lucky, smile at her ravings. That made her feel good.

The bell rang, and she sprang to her feet, her sneakers squeaking on the tiles. Somehow, Denzel seemed to have teleported to the door already. Her heart began panicking. She wanted to talk to him! The literature teacher rose to her full height, trying to speak over the rumbling. It didn't matter; the sound was swept up in the shouts and yells of excitement. School was out early for Friday!

Marlene let herself be pulled into the swamp of students. Someday, somedaysomeday, she'd get to talk to Denzel.

XXX

"Denzel!"

Inside her mind, she was squealing in excitement. Not only had all the buses left, heading out into the quiet afternoon, but now, there were only a few kids sitting in the school yard, waiting for parents or guardians to come take them home. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him.

Marlene had been diligently waiting on the stairs outside, frowning as a group of first graders passed her, when Denzel had raced out of the rusty metal doors, and slunk to the only tree, sitting in the shade quietly. In the pleasant shade, he had withdrawn something thin and neat from his backpack.

She thought she'd give him time. However, nobody had come to pick him up after ten minutes. She was back to her plan: talk to him.

From under the green tree, Denzel peeked up at her, eyes wide and unassuming. In his hands, there was a notebook, new from the crisp look of the spine. She began walking towards him, grass crunching under her brown shoes. She smiled.

Like a tomato, his face turned red. He awkwardly looked away.

She huffed and shook her head, "Denzel!"

"Hi, Marlene..."

"So," she said proudly, taking a seat by him. She was close enough that her elbows brushed his, "I just wanted to say that I wish we got to spend more time together, instead of just in the mornings."

She gauged his reaction. There wasn't one.

_Oohhhh he's so shy!_ she thought as a smile spread across her features. He looked uncomfortable; the world seemed too big for him, maybe? Bring it back to a simple level. She continued out loud, "Denzel, what's your favorite animal?"

Whatever he had been writing, he stopped for a moment. Denzel glanced at her with wide blue eyes, "Um...I like wolves."

_An answer?_ Marlene began grinning like an idiot, saying, "Awesome! I think I like those too. My absolute favorite are the red ones. Now you ask a question!" _And put your book down._

A warm breeze blew in from the west, making Denzel's hair flow gently. He shifted so his legs were straight out in front of him, no longer held to his chest like a security blanket.

"Do...do you like...?" he asked slowly, tracing the edge of his notepad. The little girl waited. He coughed, and tried again, "Do you like...cheese?"

_Cheese?_

There was suddenly a roaring noise coming from around the corner down by the drug store. Momentarily choosing to forget about the weirdest question of her life, Marlene's eyes curiously zipped to the sound, noticing with appreciation the shiny metal of a well-kept motorcycle.

The chocobo-haired man on the back was wearing tinted sunglasses. A helmet probably couldn't fit over the flare of golden hair because his golden hair was defying gravity. His clothes looked almost like black racing leathers, but they were casual, still loose on his huge frame. Grinning, Marlene realized that he was the most coolest motorcycler she had ever seen. Tifa would have made her wear her seatbelt.

The motorcycle rolled up to the sidewalk, and as the man's right hand flicked out, motioning somebody to come, Marlene was startled as Denzel jumped to his feet. Her pride was wounded that he'd just leave like that! Like a bullet, he strapped his backpack onto his shoulders.

"Gotta go, Marlene! See you on Monday!"

She waved slowly. Disappointed. "Bye."

Marlene turned away so she wouldn't have to see him leave. Her mind was reeling. Was that his guardian? If that was Denzel's dad, Elizabeth was sorely mistaken. A bike like that cost money. Unemployed? What unemployed man had a motorcycle?

Glancing around, she noticed that all the other kids had wandered off. She was alone. Her hand began tapping restlessly on her left kneecap.

"Hurry up, Tifa," she mumbled.

The revving of the motorcycle engine nearly broke her eardrums. She refused to show how much the sound hurt her eardrums. She wanted him to either leave or turn it off. As if the driver had heard her, the sound sliced off with a keening noise.

Her head whipped back around, baffled. Had he heard her thoughts?

Denzel was levering himself over the wide seat, back onto the ground. There was a grin on the man's young face as he waited patiently, getting off the beautiful bike when his boy was on the sidewalk. His heavy booted foot kicked the stand with well-practiced grace. Too practiced.

This is Cloud's dad, Marlene thought, watching as the taller of the two walked towards her. Denzel was smiling, although he was trying to hide it behind his tousled shirt and hair. Marlene found herself grinning up at the ridiculously cool figure.

The man came close, then asked, "Is someone coming to pick you up?"

Marlene was suspicious, at least until she remembered he was with Denzel. Marlene nodded, swallowing a lump of sheer joy. Somebody was going to wait with her. "Yes. My sister. She's probably just got some customers at the last second."

Whatever she said made the man's face screw up a little. He simply nodded. "I'll wait with you," he said, in a nearly monotone voice. There wasn't much emotion. Maybe Denzel was learning not to talk to her from this man. That had to change.

"I'm Marlene," she chirped, holding out her hand, "And you're...Denzel's dad?"

In the man's angular face, his eyes smiled. Despite his mouth not moving one bit, he was clearly happy about being recognized as a parent. Marlene knew. Tifa's face did the exact same thing when she said she was a guardian.

The man's huge hand engulfed hers completely. "I'm Cloud."

"Nice to meet you!" she chirped, feeling her smile brighten considerably. This nice guy couldn't be unemployed. Not with that dashing smile. "I really like your bike. It's huge. And black. And pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen." She felt like he needed to be reassured that she was a good girl who was interested in the same things as Denzel. Then, he could ask Denzel about her, and Denzel would have to think about her after school.

If anything, Cloud's face twitched. "...Thanks."

"Um...Cloud! What do you do?" _Keep it interesting..._

At first the man only stared at her. She met his eyes, noticing the strange light coming from them. A tremor went through her body. Tifa had talked about mako before and how it was scary.

"I deliver things. Packages," he finally answered, glancing at Denzel. Marlene tried to catch the look, but it was gone before she had even whipped her neck around. The two were obviously close if they could do that.

Marlene looked around. School had gotten out nearly fifteen minutes ago. It was good, since Marlene was getting in some chatting time with her crush and his dad. But usually, Tifa was right on time...

_Ah!_

"What time is it?" she asked anxiously, staring at the silver phone in Cloud's black gloved hand. Cloud flipped it open without hesitation. His voice was reassuring.

"2:23."

As if he thought she were worried Denzel scooted closer to Marlene, his legs brushing hers. A thrill went through the girl. She began smiling like a doofus. It was too hard to pull away. Her mouth wouldn't stop. "Usually my sister gets here on time. It's kinda weird she's not."

A pale hand came to pat hers awkwardly. Denzel said, "We'll wait."

Marlene smiled up at him adoringly. His face went from normal to beet red in ten seconds, but he didn't look away.

_What if we kissed right here?_ Marlene thought with a sudden panic, _Would his dad freak out? Would he? Would he run away? Wait, what if he liked it? Will we start dating? I wonder when I will-_

Through the haze from the heat, there was a far away sound. Marlene stared down the road made of broken asphalt. With a start, she noticed Tifa's brown van come speeding around the corner with a screech on the pavement. Oh Tifa. She got frustrated when she was late.

Cloud had noticed it too. From his crouched position, he asked, "Is...this your ride?" He purposely looked at Marlene, watching for signs of recognition. She smiled and said, "Yup!" Marlene wondered if he would have run the van off if she hadn't nodded.

She stood, suddenly realizing how close she had been to Denzel. It made her heart do weird jumping jacks. Just as the brown van pulled up with a squeal, the driver's door opened. The door's locks clicked to open. Gazing up at the face, Marlene's smile couldn't widen any more. Footsteps came padding around the front of the van.

It happened so fast.

Marlene watched as Cloud rose from his crouch after sharing a look with Denzel, and as he turned to the right, Tifa came jogging over the concrete. She was fumbling to stash her keys in her pocket. Denzel's eyes were widening. Cloud kept turning on his heel, not paying attention as he tried to stash his cell-phone in his pocket. Tifa was closer. And then-

She rammed into his chest.

Marlene was in shock.

Both of the adults whipped to face each other in surprise, caught off guard. For a moment, it was like electricity sparking, and sizzling; it was as if they were daring the other to even move. Their eyes took in the other.

The young girl could only imagine was Cloud was thinking. Tifa had always been pretty, especially since her black hair was silkier than even water. A smile fit Tifa's personality perfectly. Every day her white teeth were shining like pearls, brighter than the moon or stars and twice as comforting at night. Her arms were thin, but strong and warm, especially when she squeezed Marlene good-night through the covers at bedtime. Even her eyes were liquid, nearly melting with the love shining out of them.

Essentially, she was home.

There was a moment of shocked silence. After a split second, the anger in the air faded into delighted surprise. Cloud's hard eyes suddenly seemed younger as an expression of something fit over his face. Instantly a sunny grin spread across the woman's face, a side effect of Cloud. Shock registered, as well as a sad relief.

"Cloud?"

"Tifa?"

Suddenly the woman hit Cloud, leaving a resonating smack on his arm. Cloud was staring at her as her smile began fading into a frown, even though she was still laughing.

"Hey!" she said, "What are you doing around here?" Even as she was talking, her kind, pretty eyes were trailing over onto Denzel. Still, she kept talking, motioning to the bike and Cloud and the world around them. She blabbered when she was surprised.

Then it dawned on Marlene. The two adults totally knew each other.

Perfect. Marlene slid closer to Denzel, and took the opportunity to hold his hand. He didn't pull away, although his attention definitely left the adults.

"Is that you sister?" he asked, very seriously. When she nodded, he whispered, "Nobody runs into Cloud. He's got like...a sixth sense."

"Tifa's fast though," Marlene whispered back, feeling like a conspirator. The adults were standing two feet apart, like there was a plague between them. "It's hard to get away with anything because she always catches me." Denzel gave her a sympathetic look, and she was pleased to see the red was slowly leaving his face. And he hadn't pulled away from her yet.

"-met Marlene? She's my little sister."

The two younger children stared up like lost sheep at their parents. Marlene smiled up at Tifa, but noticed that Cloud was intently staring at the back of Tifa's head. He murmured a quick "Yes" before Marlene realized that her sister was expecting her to say something.

"Yup! He and Denzel waited until you got here, so I wouldn't be alone."

A light played in the depths of Tifa's eyes. It was warm, yet distant. She smiled, lips pulling up in a quirk.

"Thank you, you two! I don't know what I would have done. I'm not usually late," she laughed, body turning to face Denzel. Marlene bit her lip. "And you're Denzel?" She leaned down, hands firmly planting themselves on her knees. Her smile could have melted ice in a freezer.

The boy nodded. Marlene thought maybe he was too awed to do anything else.

"Nice to meet you," Tifa grinned, lifting herself back up to her full height. Long black hair swayed as she shifted her weight to her right foot, left foot tapping lightly on the ground. Her eyes darted back to Cloud's.

Cloud was standing awkwardly, arms straight down at his sides. He stated quietly, "If Marlene is here alone after school, I'll wait for her."

Marlene wasn't disappointed. That would mean more time with Denzel. She wanted to squeeze his hand, but she was afraid he would pull away and go all red again. Her heart was beating so fast, she wasn't sure she could even move.

Tifa brushed her hair away from her face with her right hand, the long waves of hair falling gracefully down her back. "Can I call you if I'm going to be late? I would hate for Marlene to be here on her own."

There was only the crinkling of the dried grass against everyone's shoes to remind them it wasn't a dream. Cloud blinked, and the girl noticed how there was something happening inside his eyes. Like he was...entranced. "...yes." The large hand pulled the phone from his pocket. "Here's the number."

This was what adults did when they were done talking. Marlene's time was ending with Denzel. Frantically, she turned to him, fingers gently turning within his grasp. The light made streaks appear in his brown hair, highlighting his wondering eyes.

"I'm glad I got to talk to you," she said softly, sneakers digging into the ground nervously.

Why, when she really needed to tell him she liked him, couldn't she get the words out?

The words were stuck in her throat.

Denzel saw her expression change. He hesitated. There was a squeeze from his hand.

And it was enough for Marlene.

"Well, I'll see you around," Tifa said, clutching her phone like a lifeline now that she had his number. Cloud nodded, silently slipping his phone into his deep pocket.

"I'll call you," he said, seriously.

Marlene shivered at how Tifa's fingers splayed against Cloud's upper arm hesitantly one more time, gazing up at him. He gazed down through Mako colored eyes, intently. Almost unconsciously, Tifa's mouth cracked opened, like she was running out of breath. There was a flicker of heat between them. Cloud's hand began to raise...

The young girl was thunderstruck. There was romance happening right in front of her, just like all the movies and the books she'd read!

Denzel coughed.

Cloud's hand dove into his chocobo hair. Tifa's mouth snapped shut.

The moment was ruined. Things moved forward very quickly for Marlene. She was still trying to process that she'd been holding Denzel's hand and she'd met his dad. There was lots more needless talking from both Marlene and Tifa as they waved goodbye to the men, then watched in awe as Cloud literally started the enormous motorcycle with one powerful kick of his leg. Cradling his backpack, Denzel leaped on the back, waving to Marlene. She wanted to squeal. She didn't.

When they were gone, Tifa turned to Marlene. "Hi, Marlene," she said. Her eyes were shining with pure happiness.

There was something about Cloud that made her that way, Marlene decided. Grinning, she tumbled up into the van, closing the door with a solid bang. Tifa was quickly in the driver's seat, putting on her seatbelt and turning the keys. The engine roared to life, not nearly as satisfying as a motorcycle.

Then, Marlene remembered it was the weekend. "Tifa! Guess what?" she said matter-of-factly, "I've got absolutely, positively no homework at all! I love weekends!"

Tifa's laugh echoed in the van that smelt of vanilla and the warm wine. "I get you all to myself all weekend long then!" Her eyes closed slightly (Marlene was sure she wasn't thinking about having the weekend together though— more like a certain blonde someone) and she continued on, "We'll do something on Saturday, although in the morning I'm getting a delivery. It's for your birthday, did you know?"

There was a split second before Marlene squealed. "You're the best, Tifa!"

The white smile from her guardian was heart warming. "I think I am the luckiest woman alive, right now," Tifa teased, "Because I get to hang out with you."

Marlene waited a second. "So, you know Cloud?" She was genuinely curious.

And just like that, Tifa was trying to force a smile. It didn't quite fit on her round cheeks, almost like it was too big. There was something wrong.

"I do...and Denzel, huh?" The smile softened to become real. "Is he the boy you've been talking about?"

Marlene nodded, heart pounding at the memory. "We were holding hands!" She sighed into her hands as she covered her face. "He's adorable! He actually sat by me, and we were totally touching. I was so happy..."

"Maybe we could get you two together sometime," Tifa grinned, noticing the way Marlene's eyes had blanked out as she daydreamed. Marlene thought of her hand in his.

0

0


	3. when did I start missing you?

Denzel couldn't believe it.

Of all the things to get picky about, Cloud had decided to be irritated about leaving plates on the counter. It wasn't like the cheap ceramics were going anywhere. Yet here was Denzel, arms hung in the soap suds in the sink, scrubbing leftovers off of the stupid things.

_I wonder what Marlene is doing..._

Denzel was sure that thinking about a girl this much wasn't normal. It was scary to be drifting off into his thoughts instead of being in the moment. However, he thought stubbornly, Marlene was worth thinking about. She clearly liked him: that smile when she had scuffed her shoes in the dirt and blushed because he was holding her hand! He couldn't get it out of his head.

"Here's another one."

A clank followed the sinking plate. Denzel glowered. "Where did you find that one?"

"Behind the plant. The potted one by the window?" he retorted, a little sharper than usual. The tall man leaned his back against the corner, feet crossed in front of him. He looked like he was ten seconds away from exploding. Denzel thought it was because of Marlene's sister. It was curious that they knew each other. Of all the places and people to connect to, Cloud had chosen the one adult that was in charge of Marlene. This was good news for Denzel.

His guardian, on the other hand, was off. He was more irritated. Restless. Lost in his thoughts.

Maybe...they could end that. Besides, he really was curious.

"Can I ask you something?" Denzel's eyes stared up at him, anxious. His fingers twitched, nearly losing the scrubber in the sink.

Cloud nodded. "Anything."

"How...do you know Tifa?"

XXX

_The clock was slow._

_I sighed, fist pressed against my cheek. Mr. Morrison continued his long-winded lecture about how the government used radiation and chemicals to find how Mako reacted to the iron in gunships. Only three more months, I thought to myself, three more months of Biology and I graduate. That's all I need._

_A poke in my back. "Have you turned in papers for Nibelheim Applied Tech?"_

_Zack. I shook my head stonily. I knew I wasn't going to college because if I was having trouble studying here, how would I do that in a huge city without any money? I needed a job first._

_Zack and Tifa constantly talked about college or university. Just last week, Tifa swiveled her chair to ask me where I had applied and if I had been accepted. Her giant ruby eyes had stared into my soul for ten seconds. It had been a shock. It was still a shock. I watched Morrison's neon green shirt flutter around the board doing equations, not daring to glance back toward Tifa._

_Did she think I was smart enough for college? My mind couldn't wrap itself around that idea. Both she and Zack had the grades to make anything possible. They often chatted about going to Midgar, or maybe even Gongaga or Mideel to try and get the slums up-_

_"That's it," Mr. Morrison turned, a huge bear of a man with beady eyes. His tanned skin was shining like he had run to Wutai and back. "We have learned basic mako facts in this section: its chemical properties, its uses in the government, its importance in everything living. In a few minutes, after we sign release forms, we're going to start a lab on it."_

_That perked up my ears. The lab was today? I most enjoyed working in the labs because it gave me something to focus on, not watching the letters and numbers blend on the board. There were logical steps to be taken when working with my hands._

_There was another poke on my back from Zack's thick finger. "Hey," he whispered, "Mako lab partners with Tifa?"_

_I could feel my cheeks reddening with the slight mention of the beautiful girl taking notes in the back; I nodded. Zack leaned back in his chair, hands lacing behind his head in satisfaction._

_Why hadn't I met Zack Fair and Tifa Lockheart before this year? I still was living on my own after my mother had died last year, so I hadn't gone anywhere besides classes, including football games and lacrosse (where Zack was a star player) or the tutoring center (where Tifa volunteered). Our worlds had somehow managed to collide and fasten in this stupid Biology class. I probably wouldn't even see them after I graduated._

_"CLASS!" Mr. Morrison snapped as greedy hands reached for the papers he was passing out one by one, "I have got to go turn on the emergency shutdown system for the lab. Don't be grabby!" With a groan, he gave up orderly distribution, setting the papers on one desk and exiting the room muttering. Students flocked, chattering in excitement._

_I took one, hastily signing it. Mako was cool._

_"Hey," Zack said, waving his paper around my face, "Let's go! I want to see the containment unit."_

_What? Mr. Morrison said he was going to turn on the emergency shutdown system. I gave him a confused look. "The door's locked."_

_The shining blue eyes were gleeful. "Not for long!" _

XXX

The door clicked shut. Cloud sighed in relief, glad that he had fixed the squeaky hinges weeks ago. Now all he had to worry about were the loose floorboards. That was one project that he hadn't gotten around to recently, and with the price of lumber, it was just as well he had no time to do it.

Denzel had fallen to sleep as Cloud had finished telling the story.

He had been so eager; his eyes wide and excited under his mop of brown hair as he gazed up at Cloud. Tucked under the blanket, the boy looked like he was reliving the experience. His confusion, anger, and fear nearly matched a sparkle in his eye. Wonder. Awe. Cloud wasn't sure how that made him feel.

The blonde's feet padded on the wood. It scratched his calluses. He stretched out the tension in his thick shoulders, groaning slightly. When he dropped his arms, he headed into the spartan bathroom.

XXX

_"6...3...2! Perfect!" Zack muttered as the door slid open with a screech. He slipped through without a backwards glance. I hesitated. The emergency shutdown system had to be important, or else Mr. Morrison wouldn't have asked everyone to wait. Mako could be toxic under some experiences, although the teacher hadn't explained how._

_"Strife! Look at this!"_

_Oh well..._

_As usual, Zack had been too smart and hacked the security code on the locked door. He kicked it open with his toe, brilliant eyes blazing in excitement. "Get over here," he said, none-too-quietly. "Samples are next!"_

_"Zack," I said quietly, shutting the door despite my misgivings. My friend was already bent over a locked tray that was surrounded by steam as the coolants melted. I tried again, "Zack, shouldn't we wait?" I was anxious._

_"Nah man. I've...almoooost...got it!"_

_With a swerve, his large hand pulled a vial out, containing a pulsing mass of neon blue. Grinning, he said, "What did I tell you? Isn't this cool? Look at that color!" His excitement was infectious._

_I timidly approached the crate, reaching in to pull out a vial. It was warmer than I expected, but heavier too. The color was pulsing, as if it were happy it was freed from the cooling tub. This was what ran the city, what the big corporations made money at finding. Could I possibly find a job with those guys? I would have enough money after a couple years to move into the city._

_"Cloud!" Zack's voice broke my reverie. I turned, to see the vials flipping through the air. I gaped openly at my friend, the athletic genius. He was juggling! The three vials barely missed each other as Zack laughed. "I'm juggling the energy of the world in my hands!"_

_The solid, frozen mako was strangely comforting. I unclenched my hand from my own vial. I laughed._

_"You think I could juggle for Shinra, and he'd give me a job?" Zack snapped, intense concentration creeping into his forehead._

_I shrugged. "Maybe."_

_The vials were beautiful, flying like they belonged in the air. It was astounding how close they came to each other, nearly knocking. They never touched._

_I was so entranced, I didn't notice the door open and close quickly. My hand moved of its own accord, plucking vials straight from the air. I held the two vials perfectly in my hands._

_Then she laughed._

XXX

The icy blue eyes that stared back at him were too sharp. The hands were too nimble for their size. The skin of his face was too smooth, the bones too angular...

Cloud huffed, taking his purple handled toothbrush off the stand and squirting mint toothpaste onto it. He furiously brushed his teeth. Of all things to be worried about, his unnatural looks were the lowest priority. But ever since seeing Tifa in all her glory, he wondered how he could seem normal.

He wanted to make her laugh again. He wanted to let her see him like an equal. He wanted her to see that the mako hadn't changed him.

XXX

_I clenched the freezing glass vials._

_Pain shot through my hands. Confused, I looked down._

_They had shattered. The glass had cut deeply into my palms...the blood was flowing from me like scarlet paint. The sight of the blue mako on my skin made my heart skip a beat._

_Mako that's been frozen lasts for two seconds at room temperature before the ions break down and become liquid, I thought._

_I was holding pure, unaltered mako in my hands just as all of it seeped into the gashes in my hand. Red blood was everywhere in cuts from the glass; shards of it were still stuck in my flesh. I took a breath._

_A blast of unforgiving light turned on to show me the truth. The lights swaying on rickety rusted nails were bright as staring at the sun, the tile changed so the dents and chips were suddenly mountains, and the burnt sulfur situated in the bottom of the sinks was still a sharp odor despite the chemical removers applied last week._

_I could hear a normal conversation in the next room over as Lorelei tried to explain to Marigold what a diffused ion in subparticle space was in advanced physics. Her heart was beating too loud._

_But close – almost too close - there was Zack, face too sharp and angular now, holding the two other two shiny vials close, staring at me in shock. Tifa's face seemed marble; her eyes like burning coals._

_I felt my mind lift out of my body for a split second. Enlightenment. I knew what the word meant._

_Then the pain raced up my arms like cracked lightning, burning my veins, scorching my muscles, eating away my entire body like acid. The world tipped sideways; I barely felt my head crack on the floor. I realized I was screaming in an inhuman pitch._

_There were shadows in my rapidly decreasing vision. I felt slender fingers yanking me up. Ruby eyes. Tifa. Tifa was trying to keep me awake. Zack was shouting my name._

_But my body had absorbed all of the mako in the vials._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_There was something in my arm._

_My eyes groggily blinked open to see a blurry tube in my arm. I passed out again._

_..._

_..._

_The white walls weren't soothing. It hurt my brain as the light waves reflected, shining straight into my blistering headache. Pain. Light._

_I coughed. A tall figure appeared and murmured something._

_She put something in the tube. Fascinated, I watched it flow into my arm. It made me relax._

_I closed my eyes._

_..._

_There was a voice._

_I jerked away when fingers stroked my cheek. The voice grew more insistent, like my mother's when I was sick. I frowned. Who was that? A wispy face appeared in the back of my mind before it was swept away by panic._

_Who am I?!_

_Groaning, I struggled. Then I heard: "Cloud, please...Cloud, calm down! It's just me..."_

_Cloud. I am Cloud._

_I peeked open my eyes._

_Somehow, I knew I was in a white-washed hospital room, hooked up to an IV. My muscles were exhausted, weak beyond anything I had felt. The nurse was stroking my forehead. I could barely remember my name. Smells bombarded my nose. Medicine. Cleaning supplies. Starch products from down the hall. Air conditioning laboring above me. Cafeteria. Everything smelt so different, so medicinal._

_I was in a hospital._

XXX

The kitchen was quiet. A single light above the doorway was on, casting a soft glow over the old stove and white refrigerator shoved into the corner. Invoice papers, his frustratingly silent phone, and Denzel's tattered backpack sat contently on the coffee table. A brilliant green plant sat on the window ledge. Shoes were kicked off, forgotten over the rug. There wasn't much by way of order, but it was home.

Cloud watched the dark room and moved around to the sink. He sighed, resting his hands on the counter. His mind was buzzing relentlessly.

Why?

Why had he told Denzel about that?

He hadn't always been able to speak to his adopted son. He hadn't wanted soft-spoken Denzel to struggle through school with peers like he had. No parent wanted that.

Then again, not every parent had severe mako-poisoning that led to a coma at age seventeen. Not every parent adopted a child he had found on the street. He had told Denzel: "Mako has its uses. It's how I found you. When I passed in front of the old broken church, I could hear your heart barely beating. I acted as quickly as I could, taking you to the hospital. When you were well, I adopted you."

Cloud held up his hands to the wane light, remembering how Denzel's eyes had widened and his fingers prodded the white, pale scars crisscrossing each other jaggedly, clearly cut by glass. For a moment, there had been questions shining in his son's eyes: what did it feel like? What did it mean? But his son had stayed quiet throughout the story. The only other time Denzel had looked like that was when Cloud had tried to explain Tifa.

The blonde-haired man sighed. Tifa. It had been years since he had thought about her. All that he remembered was her soft face, constant at his side as he struggled to speak through the blue haze around his mind. His heart pounded thinking about her. What was she doing now? Was she still in Nibelheim? Was she dating? Engaged?

...married?

She had a child.

And why had he told Denzel about the accident? He didn't mind, but he had only meant to tell him about school and about finding the best in every situation, especially if it was a girl. He hadn't meant to bring up those feelings of losing his identity. But Tifa had been there too.

Cloud slipped onto the couch, staring out the window toward the lights of Edge. His heart ached.

He wanted to see her.

He sighed.

Tifa.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Tifa scrubbed the last of the spilled mixer with a rag, hands tingling from the disinfectant. The bar chairs were neatly stacked on top of the battered wooden tables. She wiped at the sweat trickling down her forehead. Setting the rag down, she double-checked the front door; it was locked tight so she threw the deadbolt as an extra precaution. She smiled into the shadowy street. The lights shimmered brightly back.

Today had been a good day. The till had been right on, the deliveries had come at a reasonable hour instead of later, and there hadn't been any vomit onto the tables tonight.

Marlene was sitting in her pajamas on the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, struggling to color a picture in her ridiculously pink book. The pencils were all falling down between her legs and her elbows. She had been waiting for Tifa to finish cleaning to tuck her in.

"Marlene!" Tifa laughed, walking to her young charge, "You need to put the pencils down on the stairs, silly! They won't roll if they're this way, and you can see them all." Gently, she replaced the fallen pencils on the stairs. She yawned. "Aren't you ready for bed?"

With one last scribble, Marlene stated, "Yup!" Without preamble, she gathered all of the colors, papers, and the pencil sharpener and began clambering up the creaky stairs. Tifa sighed. She'd have to get someone to fix those soon. And lumber was so expensive!

By the time she'd made it up the stairs after the girl, Marlene had dropped her supplies and dove under the covers as if she never wanted to come up. Tifa laughed, "Come on, girl! Let's get you sleeping."

Marlene's brown hair popped above the covers, and her eyes were soon to follow. She looked curious.

Laughing, Tifa sat on the edge of the bed. She smiled. Never let Marlene go to bed without answering her questions. It was a rule. "Yes?"

And then Marlene said knowingly, "I saw the way you looked at Cloud today. How do you know him? Where did you guys meet? Do you still like him?"

Tifa's heart pounded too hard.

XXX

_My hand was clenched in Cloud's motionless, smooth one._

_I knew better than to touch his wounded hands. I did it anyway. They were too cold. His left hand was bleeding sluggishly, as if the mako were soaking up the blood._

_"Cloud," I whispered, "Cloud can you hear me?"_

_Zack suddenly stood to his feet. "I need to get Mr. Morrison," he said, almost bewildered, "The emergency shut down."_

_He doesn't get it. Cloud needs help now. I glowered. Still, I managed to keep a level tone in my voice, "Zack, it's too late for that. Call the hospital." Blinking my ruby eyes, I tried to block the lump in my throat. Tears were on the verge of staining my cheeks._

_"Good idea," Zack muttered, exiting the room at a run, shaking hand already digging in his pocket for his phone. I could hear the beeps from the numbers as he called the emergency line._

_There was a loud shout, and then the door crashed open. Mr. Morrison's huge face appeared, red down to the roots of his hair. A student tried to enter the room, completely oblivious. The teacher turned, glowering, and shut the door harder than it needed to be._

_"Tifa!" he sputtered, "Zack...Cloud...What happened?" He was staring at Cloud's pale, unmoving eyes._

_Honestly, I didn't know. There was only the moment of complete panic as Cloud had soundlessly fallen to the floor. It was the crack of his head on the concrete that had moved me into horrified action._

_"Cloud...there's mako in his cut," I said desperately. "Do you have anything to clean it-"_

_Mr. Morrison appeared not to have heard me. "Zack is going to come clean about this. If it's hazing, he's going straight to the board. He can get his athletic scholarship put on hold. This is going on his permanent record. I can't believe he'd be so stupid!"_

_This new information hit me hard. "What?" I asked. All the discussions with Zack about college sports..._

_"Hazing. It goes on your permanent record." His eyes locked on mine, hardening. "What happened here?"_

_I clenched my mouth. "I broke in. Zack and Cloud followed me." I gambled. With my grades, my beneficial extracurricular activities, my personality, one strike wouldn't hurt me. It would hurt both of my friends, who were on the cusp of failing._

_Mr. Morrison frowned. "I need to call Mr. Reeve. He needs to be told what's going on in his own school." Without even stepping closer, he opened the door. I panicked._

_"What about Cloud? He's not-!"_

_The door slammed shut._

_Cloud jerked, as if the sound was a gunshot near his head. His breath became faster; his chest heaved. I noticed his veins were beginning to puff out of his skin, tinged blue. The mako was burning him from the inside out. He was in terrifying pain, I was sure._

_I clenched his hand harder, wishing for a sign. "I'm here," I whispered, brushing back a piece of golden hair._

_Once, as a freshman, he'd pulled me back from the road as I ran out, late for a meeting. He had pulled me back quickly and roughly the second a car had screeched to a halt at the light before zooming off. He walked away before I could breathlessly thank him._

_For a week, I had tried to have lunch with him. He was never there. I was in honors classes, and he wasn't. I never saw him, except for a glance when he drove by on his old, rusted motorcycle._

_Until this year._

_I hadn't wanted to tell him, but he had a special place in my heart. I had been planning on asking him to come with me to the dance on Friday, not Zack. He seemed to think he was worthless._

_Now, here he was lying on the floor, shaking with pain and staring at me like he couldn't remember who I was._

_I didn't know how long I knelt by him, hopelessly hoping. Sirens were piercing the outside glass, there was banging on the door, and then hands were pulling me away from him. I let them, but my eyes never left him. There were four people moving around him like frenzied ants._

_When the identically dressed medics placed him on the stretcher and three left to open doors and start the car, my legs began moving without thinking. My hand slipped back into his._

_The remaining medic, the one who had pulled me back, suddenly whipped his head up. His dark black hair was cropped close to his ears, and the hat he wore hid his forehead. He could have been anybody on the street. I didn't care. I waited by Cloud._

_"Miss, you have to let go. He needs critical medical attention at the hospital," the EMT barked, strapping Cloud's arms onto the stretcher. He rubbed an arm across his frightened face. Obviously, he had never seen mako poisoning this bad, "We will notify his parents. You can meet them at the hospital."_

_There was a split second of chatter before I violently shook my head. "His mother...she's dead. We're...dating. I need to go with him." My eyes steeled._

_The man looked at me._

_Then he shrugged. "Get in the ambulance. Try not to move around. Biggs and Jesse need to work on keeping him stable." He began rolling the stretched toward the open door._

_I hesitated when I saw crowds of students, in all their tattered or fancy clothes, their phones flashing, their mouths flapping open._

_Even when Mr. Morrison shuffled them back, they knew: Cloud Strife had mako poisoning. Cloud had never wanted to be noticed. When they saw me holding his hand and being shepherded into the ambulance, they gaped. I was so irritated. Did they not know I was friends with him? Could they not imagine it?_

_I was in shock, I realized. I was cold, and my heart was pounding. Maybe it was a good thing I was going to the hospital._

_Desperately, I looked at Cloud._

_His eyes were vacant._

_It terrified me. He was slipping away from all he had ever known._

XXX

Tifa's hands shook as she placed the last satchel of food away in the fridge, smiling distantly at the pictures on the fridge's door of her, a hulking black man scowling, and a little girl with a bright smile. They were at a park, having a picnic of apples and cheese and bread.

The kitchen was quiet. There was a flowerbox on the sill outside, flowers cowering against the darkness. There was no yard, no door, just a window that led to an alley. Garbage cans were piled high. A lonesome cat crawled into the dumpster as Tifa peered outside.

She sighed. It was dirty inside too: crumbs on the floor, dusty cobwebs in the ceiling...

There was dust on the top of the cupboards. Tifa knew she'd have to clean them eventually. What she really needed was somebody tall enough to reach that. Maybe Cloud-

She frowned. Why couldn't she stop thinking about Cloud?

XXX

_The hospital was so loud. There were ambulances from other districts wheeling in, lights blazing. Nurses and doctors were waiting by the doors to usher in patients, flickering lights on eyes, clucking over sprained or broken bones, frowning when there was a particularly painful wound._

_Then they saw Cloud._

_I had never seen anyone go so quiet as the tall woman doctor. Her tag read, AERIS. She actually looked like she said a prayer under her breath before walking to us._

_The EMT who had let me ride with them began explaining the situation. I caught snippets, mainly words like "mako poisoning" "intense" "extreme hypertension" and "critical levels". Inside of me, I noticed I was still in shock. I would pass out if I didn't sit and get some water._

_My feet simply led me away. Turning down a white-washed hallway, I saw a drinking fountain and a bench. I took a drink of the icy water, then laid myself down on the wooden bench, elevating my feet._

_My brain was thundering._

_Life was cruel._

_Cloud wasn't in the best shape gil-wise. He couldn't afford this treatment. I know for all my prodding for college, he wasn't considering it, because of the money. He couldn't go. I wanted him to so badly. If he could only get away from this place, the death of his mother, and the kids who continually hurt him, he could become someone great._

_The throbbing in my brain was going down. I sat up, and the world didn't spin any more. Quickly, I took another drink, frowning as I realized I didn't know where they would have taken Cloud. Emergency? Surgery? What room...?_

_Instead of wandering around the emergency floor, searching for any name under "Cloud Strife" on doors, I decided to ask a receptionist. It was a balding man, homely, but more than nice enough. I can't remember what I said exactly, only that it was about how I desperately needed to see my friend. The receptionist said a lot of cases had come in, and was there a description of the problem?_

_When I said "mako poisoning", the man directed me to the intensive unit without question._

_I found my way there, moving in a daze. Sounds and sights began to blur. Hundreds of people seemed to walk past me; in reality, it was a handful of EMTs in their green scrubs returning to their ambulances outside._

_By luck, I found the room. It was tucked into the corner, shades drawn. A tag with Cloud's name on it was stuck outside the door. The door was open._

_Hesitantly, I poked my head inside._

_The same doctor that had met us at the entrance was taking his vitals, clucking softly. I coughed, entering the room. Her warm eyes flew up to meet me, her lips twisting into a sympathetic half-smile. She did not look optimistic._

_"Are you his..." she flipped up a chart, "...girlfriend?"_

_I answered firmly, "Yes. His mother...she died last year. He has no other family."_

_The beautiful brunette doctor nodded. "Well, I should probably tell you about the injury. It's deep, nearly to the bone. It punctured the blood vessels near the wrist, and..." Her hands were animated as she fiddled with machines around my friend's body._

_Her voice began fading out. My eyes drifted over to Cloud's prone body. It was short, almost comically, in the emergency bed. He was sweating, and his back arched in his sleep from the pain. Aeris said something about how they couldn't do anything for him except put him in the comatose patients' ward and monitor him. That was his next destination. Not reassuringly, he made a noise that sounded in between a man and a wolf, a half-howling, half-screaming noise at such a low level I couldn't hear it clearly._

_It made me shudder._

_Aeris walked to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'll be back in a few minutes to put him on a respirator, give him tranquilizers, and answer any of your questions." She gave another half smile. Like a ghost, she vanished out into the door. It closed with a soft click._

_I sank into the chair by Cloud. His hands were shaking. I bit my lip, devastated. Finally, I just gave up, and laid my head on the covers of his bed._

_I felt the tears start, and they didn't stop until well past midnight._

XXX

Tifa stared at her phone.

It sat mockingly on the corner of the table, power button glinting. The lights hit the silver casing. All that was required to call Cloud was a quick entering of digits, then hitting the green button.

No, but it was late. Tifa couldn't do that. Besides, calling on the same day as meeting someone was technically awkward, wasn't it? She had said she'd call him if she was going to be late to pick up Marlene. Calling him because she had finally found him after all these years wasn't appropriate.

She sighed at the blatant lie to herself.

XXX

_I yawned into my cup of coffee, managing to wave to Marcus as I passed the desk. The older gentleman's eyes brightened and he waved, which was more than I could say about most of the green-clad nurses I passed._

_I was becoming a regular._

_Cloud had been moving last time I visited, nearly a week ago. Finals were approaching for school, and as much as I wanted to see him and make sure he was making progress, I needed to look forward to my own future. I was determined to do something besides stay in this town._

_My friend hadn't woken for nearly two months. Ever since his accident, I had come in, combing his hair, washing his face, holding his hand, and even talking to him. I didn't know why I was trying so hard. Maybe it was because I felt like I owed him for saving my life so long ago. In any case, it was frustratingly painful to watch how he deteriorated. His face sank. His shoulders became thin. I was afraid he would die._

_With a wave at Aeris, who was on the phone, rapidly talking, I went around the corner to the new hospital room. They'd moved him from the emergency section with its lights and screams to a quieter section, near the rear. Aeris had been kind enough to check on him randomly. I wondered if she was off duty. I wondered if she liked him._

_Maybe we could go get a quick breakfast before I headed to school. Trying not to scald my tongue, I walked around the corner, checking on him before I managed to get to the doorway..._

_He was sitting straight up in bed. The soft blue sheets were draped around his legs and waist. His golden hair had fallen around his face, hiding it as he stared at the wall. Nothing seemed to faze him._

_He was cradling his injured hands together._

_I was shocked, and relieved to see him awake. I took a breath, and rapped on the door gently. "Cloud...?"_

_My hands shook as he immediately focused on me._

_It was like being pinned under a suffocating blanket. His eyes were insane, crazed glints of blue light. Yet he seemed so lost, so much more than before. My friend looked like he didn't know who he was, where he was supposed to be. He pulled his hands close to his chest, protecting._

_I knew I couldn't leave him, not after seeing that._

_"Cloud," I said brightly, hiding my terror. I swept into the room, giving him time to adjust to me. He continued his stare. This would be difficult, then._

_"Cloud," I tried again, setting my coffee down and sitting in the chair by his bedside, "Do you know who I am? I'm Tifa. Remember?"_

_Nothing. Not even a flash. He acted as if he hadn't heard me._

_He stared._

_Biting my lip, I nodded to him. For everything that he'd ever done for me, for all the times we spoke in class, out of class on the street, and the one time he'd given me a ride home on his motorcycle, I needed to do this. I needed to know I could._

_Daringly, I took hold of his hand. He flinched. I refused to let go. "Cloud," I promised, harder this time, "We're friends, right? Friends don't leave their friends in pain alone."_

_I wouldn't leave him. I wouldn't._

_Under my grip, I felt his tender muscles relax. I hoped it was a sign he'd heard me._

XXX

Tifa pulled the shades closed on the bay windows in the bar. The city was dark and silent. Edge wasn't as populated as under the plate, and the stars were seen, shimmering hopefully.

_Oh, Cloud..._

The last time she'd gone back to the hospital, Cloud had vanished. The nurses, Aeris especially, had been in a panic, worried about his medication and his mental stability and how could he survive out there? They had the police looking for him, but even after forty-eight hours, they couldn't find him.

Tifa remembered slumping into a chair, so numb and hollow she couldn't even weep.

As if remembering that moment, tears slipped down Tifa's face just watching the stars wink, and she felt her heart patter faster just thinking of the mysterious blue-eyed man.

When she had seen him. alive and well, Denzel in tow, she hadn't believed it. After all the years wondering where he could be, after comparing boyfriends and serious suitors to the vague boy in her high school class, she wondered if Cloud had thought about her at all.

What had happened to him all those years ago?

And why was her heart breaking?

0

0


	4. when I find you, I won't ever let go

Cloud woke up as his scarred hand reached out across the bed, like it was searching. In the unadjusted light, he thought for a moment there was a person sleeping beside him.

Shaking his head, the man lied in silence, staring at the ceiling. It was patched, white, and completely stable. Winter could be devastating. He was glad it was nearly summertime, and his handiwork wouldn't be tempted to break.

His sensitive ears suddenly picked up the noise of a banging pot from the kitchen. Denzel.

Sighing, and ignoring the way his knees popped, Cloud rose to his full height, grabbing a shirt from his half-open drawer. He tugged it on while walking.

The kitchen was a mess. Denzel had cracked eggs into a sizzling pan, and currently, he was trying to fish out pieces of the eggshell. The trash was nearly overflowing with paper towels from where the young boy had tried to wipe up his mess. Crumbs fell out of the toaster as the toast began cooling. There was a pitcher with just orange concentrate in it, thawing out.

Despite the mess, Cloud grinned. It was mornings like this that made every single moment of his life bearable.

"Cloud!" Denzel squawked, clearly embarrassed at being caught. Silently, he gave up, mashing the few tiny eggshells into a pulp along with the rest of the yolks. Scrambled eggs. He tried to get the toast with one hand while stirring frantically with the other. "Give me like ten minutes. No! Don't...don't try to help. I got it." His tongue poked out of his mouth in concentration.

The older man slowly pulled his hand back from its reach to the orange juice. His assistance was apparently not needed.

Instead, he wandered into the bathroom, splashing cool water on his face from the faucet when he got there. Cloud stared at his own face, once again noticing the insane colored eyes staring back. He wondered when he'd stop seeing a monster there.

He scoffed at himself.

Back to the kitchen. His gate was slow, comfortable. By the time he got there, and after he'd shot his silent phone a dirty look, Denzel had scraped together a breakfast. All the food was on two plates, and only now was he pouring the drink into cups. The boy glanced once at Cloud.

"Is it...okay?"

There was no hesitation. Cloud pulled Denzel in from the side, giving him a quick side-hug. "Yes. And I was hungry, too."

They dug in, lounging on the couches in the warm morning sun. The food was tasty, if somewhat crunchy and slightly cold. It didn't matter. Not a morning person, Cloud began to tune out Denzel's talk. Every once in a while, he'd reach over with a finger to make sure to keep Denzel's plate level, especially when the boy began speaking and trying to tell a story with his hands.

Why was he moving so much?

Then Cloud felt the light bulb go off in his head.

Denzel was talking about Marlene, the girl..."sister" of Tifa. His voice might be controlled, but his limbs were moving, trying to relieve stress. He was biting his lip, frowning, "...so I don't know what to do. She's just so...better than me." His fingers tapped.

The question remained unspoken: What do I do?

"Denzel," Cloud said quietly, "What do you _want_ to do with her?"

There was a brief hesitation, and the boy put his plate on the coffee table, tugging at his socks. Obviously, he'd thought about it a little. "Well...I'd like to...go get ice cream with her?" His cheeks burned.

_I need to support this, in every way_, Cloud thought. "Good. I can drive you over there sometime."

Denzel stared at him. "I don't know where she lives, though," he whispered in horror, only now realizing it, "But I don't only want to see her in school."

There was so much potential here for his boy to be happy. All of the fights, the disagreements, and the harsh taunts at school could be dealt with, and forgiven, in time. Young love needed to be grown. And so what, if Cloud had to call Tifa to set up a date? For Denzel's sake, he promised himself.

"I'll call Tifa."

"Really?" Denzel looked dubious.

Cloud steeled himself, glancing at the menacing phone, still set down where he'd left it last night while he'd been lost in thought. "Yes. How about we clean everything up, and wait an hour before I call? Let's let them have breakfast first."

The next few minutes were tense for the older man. Denzel nearly inhaled the rest of his food before pacing back and forth. Finally, Cloud had handed him the dishes with a sigh, glancing at the clock. It was nearly nine o' clock. It was his rule: after nine at night, before nine in the morning. Polite.

The second the hand switched to the nine, Denzel said, "It's nine."

Nodding, then laughing under his breath, Cloud moved to his phone, hand reaching for it.

The light at the edge suddenly sprang into action. There was buzzing as the phone vibrated on the counter, then the ringtone, a victorious melody that usually made Cloud grin. The caller ID read: TIFA LOCKHEART.

Cloud's heart hammered, but he dutifully answered the phone.

"Hello?"

His ears strained, as if Tifa's voice would bring her through the speakers to him. As if he could see her by closing his eyes and listening.

"Good morning, Cloud! Is Denzel there? Can I talk to him? Did I call too early?" The volume nearly made him jerk the phone away from his ear.

He couldn't help it: he grinned. "Yes. Hold on." Pulling it down from his ear, he said softly to his son, who was staring at him like he'd been caught stealing, "It's Marlene." He bounced it in his hand.

The boy awkwardly held out his hand, trying to be cool while inside he was shaking with excitement. Cloud could see it in the way his eyes lit at the mention of the sweet, brown-haired girl. Turning away from his father, Denzel walked further away, towards the opposite wall.

"Hello?"

Cloud snorted. Denzel sounded just like him.

Instead of listening in on the conversation, Cloud headed to the kitchen, gathering plates and silverware as he went. Making an awkward attempt to balance all of it, he got to the sink and settled all of the dishes inside, flipping on the hot water with a finger. He squeezed a dollop of soap out and watched it expand and sparkle in the morning light, and it hit him. He could see Tifa today.

Smiling softly to himself, Cloud grabbed the dish rag and began wiping the dishes clean, sighing at the sight of the pan stuck with burned egg leftovers.

It took Denzel a few minutes, but by the time he'd finished talking to Marlene, Cloud had finished and dried all the dishes. As his son came to his elbow, the taller man began hoisting the cleaned plates up into the cabinet. He looked meaningfully at Denzel.

"So...can I go over to Marlene's at noon? For lunch and stuff," Denzel explained, fingers carefully taking the silverware and tossing it into the drawer all at once. As if he'd never been interrupted, he continued, "She kept talking about her house, and Tifa, and what she was doing...Marlene, not Tifa."

"Did you get an address?"

Denzel hesitated, then he nodded in affirmation. "It's in Edge. Off the main road three streets, going south. It's called Seventh Heaven."

Cloud had taken a few deliveries around there; the new ShinRa headquarters were there, along that northern plaza. Certainly, Tifa had chosen a new place to start over. Edge wasn't too populated yet, and it was not a place where the rich began again. It was literally on the edge of Midgar. "Yea. I can get you over there."

"And you'll see Tifa...right? You're gonna stay and talk to her?"

Cloud blinked owlishly at Denzel. "Of course."

"Good. I need to go shower." Like a shot, the boy was bolting down the hall to the bathroom. The door slammed shut.

Laughing, Cloud murmured out loud, "Still got a few hours, bud..."

XXX

"TIIIIIIFA! Denzel's comin' over at lunchtime."

Tifa stopped dead in her tracks; the stairs creaked when her weight shifted. Her hand swiftly patted her pockets – no phone. Had she really called Cloud? "Using my phone, I presume?" she said coolly, turning to put a hand on her hips. Ruby eyes gazed out over the bar, in all its messy glory. There were even dust mites in the air? How was she going to clean all this before h- they came?

Marlene had nodded and returned to walking toe-to-toe around the table, measuring the distance. She didn't look concerned at all.

"What happened to our picnic for your birthday?" Tifa asked.

The young girl shrugged. "Denzel is more important than that."

_Why is my charge interested in boys all of the sudden?_

There was no use arguing with her friend Barret's daughter, although there would be a talk later about stealing people's possessions and asking permission first. Tifa wondered if Cloud had these types of problems with Denzel.

_Oh goodness, why don't you ask him when he comes over?_ she thought, irritated. _He'll be here soon enough._

Her stomach did strange loops at the thought. While she had been so excited to see Cloud, she had planned on having time to think about what she'd say, how she'd call him. There was still a few hours, though, until noon.

She wandered down into the bar first, grabbing a towel and putting a bucket under the sink to start a soapy water scrub. Sweetly cajoling, she managed to get Marlene to wipe off all the tables and make sure all the chairs were put in exactly the same on every table. Then she ran upstairs to take a shower and comb her hair.

XXX

Two hours full of cleaning tables, windows, picking up her room, and making sandwiches later, Marlene simply sat and watched the windows. Denzel had said he would be there, and she believed him. Why was waiting so terrible? It made her doubt. It made her nervous.

Then, as if all her prayers had been answered, there was a roaring of a motorcycle.

Marlene ran to the window.

The beautiful black bike had pulled up outside like it was alive, thrumming with energy. On its back, Cloud was removing his goggles, hair sticking up like a chocobo's feathers. He was wearing a cut-off gray shirt with long jeans, and black gloves on his hands. And there, clambering off behind the older man, was Denzel pulling a helmet off his head, in a bright red shirt. His brown hair looked soft and touchable, even with the little curls from the helmet. He looked nervous as his feet hit the pavement.

She could change that in a heartbeat, no problem.

"Hey!" she called, running through the door. Her left hand began waving at the two. "You got here! I thought maybe you were lost!"

Denzel's face was wiped into a small smile. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "Well, we got to the plaza, but I forgot if it was three streets or four..." He shrugged. "Cloud knows the area."

Then, as Cloud held up the bike, moving it onto the kickstand, Denzel reached out quickly and pulled her into his chest for a second. His long arms patted her awkwardly. His body was thin, but warm. Marlene was too happy to do anything except sigh. She giggled.

Denzel almost pushed her away by the time Cloud had turned around. Probably embarrassed he had shown her any attention.

The door opened behind the group of people standing on the hot concrete. Tifa's smile was welcoming. "Hey Denzel!" she said happily, flapping her hand in the general direction of the bar, "Come inside. There's sandwiches and root beer in the kitchen." Her ruby eyes flickered over to the silent man, who was standing with his fists in his pocket. Marlene noticed as she silently welcomed Cloud too.

The tiny girl had lifted her pretty brown-haired head, and she grinned. "Okay!" she said, grabbing the boy's hand, "Come on!" She nearly kicked the door into pieces on the way to get it open.

She wanted to get away from the guardians. Then, just maybe, Denzel wouldn't be so shy.

XXX

With the sun warm, but not too hot, it was beautiful outside. The buildings around Seventh Heaven were newly built and strong against the skyline. Conscious of the obvious lack of funds of the bar, Tifa smiled it off on purpose as she watched the two children race behind the bar, into the warm kitchen. Tifa wasn't so shocked to see that Denzel glanced back to Cloud uncertainly before being dragged away with a loud bang.

Tifa looked to Cloud.

He was still standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets, but now he was meeting her eyes. The blue was surreal. Her heart gave a little jump.

"Hey, Cloud," she said softly.

He hesitated, before saying in acknowledgement, "Tifa."

Tifa had to smile at his cool demeanor; he'd said that every day she'd said hello in class. It brought back good memories. Wryly grinning, she asked abruptly, "Do you want to go for a walk? Just down the street?"

_Get to know each other again?_

Cloud nodded, then to her surprise said, "Just tell the kids first."

Playing with him was too easy. "You don't think we could just leave them?" she said innocently, smiling wide as Cloud gave her a suspicious look. "Knowing them, they'd get into my liquor cabinets. Especially if Marlene is trying to show off."

It was like he couldn't decide whether to believe her or not. He stared.

She laughed apologetically, "Relax! Marlene's a good kid. She won't do anything." She leaned into the bar, yelling, "Marlene!"

The girl peeked around the corner, her fist holding up the root beer bottle. "YAH!?"

"Stay inside. Come lock this door. Cloud and I are going to go for a walk. Call me if you need anything," she instructed, as Marlene trotted over, nodding. The little girl shut the door, kicked it to double check it was shut, then turned the deadbolt. With a wave through the glass, she went back to the kitchen.

Scuffing her shoes slightly on the pavement, Tifa smiled, jerking her chin to let Cloud know they could walk down the street. He came towards her, tall and lanky, yet comfortable in his own skin. Smooth. Practiced. As she approached, she moved to the side, allowing him to walk beside her. She caught a slight whiff of his smell, and smiled to herself.

Together, the two of them walked towards the plaza.

Tifa glanced to Cloud. "How are you doing? You like the city?"

He shrugged, saying quietly, "I like it, well enough, I suppose..."

_Oh no._ He was turning awkward and not talking. That would not do. Not after all the years she'd spent thinking about this moment. If he wouldn't talk, she'd let him know about her.

"I bet Midgar is nice. Edge is cooler, I feel. Temperature-wise, don't worry!" she laughed, popping her neck before stretching her arms, "I chose it for the bar, just because it wasn't too expensive or too cheap. It's a nice place." Out of the corner of her eye, she found he was watching her, interested. She waited for him to speak.

He did. "And...how are you doing out here?"

Tifa was admiring his face; all of the weariness and despair was gone. She smiled, meeting his eyes, "Well enough, I suppose...I'm good. I graduated. You know how I applied to a bunch of places, like the Wutai Scientific Academy? Or the university at Costa del Sol? I ended up at Midgar University; believe it or not, they have a great selection of classes and it has a vast student body. It took me a while, then I went into business." Seeing his skeptical face, she laughed. "I always wanted to help people, and although a bar is tough and...sometimes not really helpful...I really wanted to do something different. Be my own boss, I guess. I've managed to keep a hold of it since graduation, although I had a tough time getting it going. I met a couple of new friends: Barret, Aerith, Yuffie, Reno…"

"You know Reno?" Cloud interrupted suddenly, blinking sharply, "Red-haired, hot-tempered-"

"Jack-ass Reno?" Delighted, Tifa turned to Cloud, grinning, "Yeah! He was the one who actually suggested I start a bar, so he had an 'excuse' to come and visit me after college."

Wryly, Cloud commented, "Sounds just like him now."

"He's not that bad!" she chided, "Besides, he and Yuffie had a thing going. I don't know how it turned out though…"

"He probably took her out a few times and got sick of her." At Tifa's reproachful look, he said, "He's always talking about women at work. No offense to your friend."

Tifa shrugged. "It's true, I guess. Anyway, this place has become my life. The mako crisis hit Edge fairly hard. It brings people together. I know what's going on in the regulars' lives, the kids come over for programs and social events during off-hours, and I gain profit from all of the large parties coming in for a drink from the city. I've been here for…what, a couple of years? Just minding my own business."

By this time, they'd walked all the way to the plaza, noticing the few shoppers out and about. There were green sun umbrellas out in front of the small bakery, with iron chairs outside. The concrete was fresh and smooth, none of the jagged, unfinished edges like those down by Seventh Heaven. People were out wandering, window shopping and motioning to each other, deep in discussion. The WRO Headquarters could be seen a few blocks over, blocking out the sun.

It was relaxing.

Cloud was quiet for a moment as they paused in their stride. He sighed, causing her to quirk her eyebrows. Uncertainly, he asked, "What about Marlene?"

"Marlene? She's a friend's daughter I watch while he's out on work location." Tifa gazed at Cloud's uncomfortable face, saying quietly, "She's not really mine, you know.

Cloud shrugged. "You could have adopted her," he defended himself.

"No, no, it's all right," Tifa said, patting his shoulder. She noticed the bulge of muscle with a gulp before she withdrew her hand rather quickly. "I get the question a lot. Since I'm single."

She heard Cloud take a breath. But she tried not to let it make her heart race.

"I met another guy at college: Barret Wallace. He was in business too, although he had the worst temper for a manager, and he was a couple of years older than my other friends. He was thinking about going to find some oil fields, although I can't remember where. We were fairly close. When I learned he had a daughter, and he was distraught about placing her somewhere while he worked, I suggested it here. He doesn't get in very much – probably every six months — but I mean, he's more than welcome to visit, and I needed the drive to get other things done instead of wasting my life away in a bar. I enjoy having her. I tell her she's my little sister."

Cloud responded, "She looks happy." He rubbed a spot of dust away from his pants, "Talkative."

"Did she chat your ear off at the school, before I got there? It's how she tries to win you over."

Then, out of the blue, Cloud smiled. It was wide and white, and his eyes followed. All of the anxiety and nervousness suddenly melted, as if he'd been carrying it since they left the bar. "Yeah. I need to put in an effort. Denzel likes her. A lot. He wants to be around more."

His mako, neon blue eyes warmed Tifa.

There was a companionable silence, one in which Tifa closed her eyes. It felt so right for him to be back.

_Be around more?_

Tifa liked the sound of that.

XXX

Denzel eyed the girl in front of him, with her purple shirt and jean shorts. Her legs were swinging under the table. She was chomping the last bite of her sandwich like she'd never see it again. He was glad she wasn't watching him, because he was doing the same thing.

He'd never been around a girl like Marlene before.

She had invited him in instantly, then managed to make him smile and laugh more than Cloud had over trivial things, like the squeaky floorboard in the corner and the way she scurried onto the chair from the floor. There wasn't a good way to describe it other than...friend.

"You done?"

He nodded, mashing the last bit of bread, meat, and cheese into his mouth. "Yup."

Marlene shook her hair behind her head, and asked, "Want to see the rest of the house? It's super clean since I did the windows earlier." Her eyes suddenly shone. "Or! We can go into the basement! There's all sorts of stuff down there."

Hesitating, Denzel asked, "...basement?"

Weren't there all sorts of things in the basement? Like spiders and bugs and cobwebs and...gross stuff? His imagination suddenly spiked. What if somebody was waiting down there, ready to leap out and grab them and lock them up so nobody would ever find them? It was probably just a basement though. Nothing special. And if Marlene wanted to go down there...

"Sure," he affirmed, standing and pushing the chair back under the table. Carefully swiping the plates, he moved to the sink to set them in carefully, noticing how Marlene had fled from the room, whooping.

As the dishes settled, he wandered around into the other room, shoes patting lightly on the wood. Loud calling came from the hallway. Denzel took the opportunity to gaze around, seeing old black and white photographs and colored drawing book pages in neon colors. He smiled. This house had character. He liked it a lot.

Marlene was bouncing on her feet, motioning him forward. Her eyes were gleaming. Trotting over to her, he became suddenly aware of what she was facing.

The door loomed in front of them, all smooth wood. Marlene bravely twisted the knob, and said excitedly, "Let's go!" Within a second, she had plunged down the first two stairs, skipping the whole way.

Denzel crept after her at a slower pace, noticing that her silhouette hadn't moved any further down. Was she waiting for him?

Taking a deep breath, he descended until he was only a step above her. Marlene laughed, but she couldn't keep the shaking out of her voice. 

"Come on. It's not scary."

Unconsciously, he wandered down further, moving in front of her. What could possibly be so scary? He had the urge to show a brave face. She needed him.

Walking down the stairs was like descending into a pit of darkness. The light slowly faded behind his head, and the reek of dust and wine came out in front of him. There were dim shadows from the light of the hallway above the two of them. Marlene was at his shoulder, hand ghosting his shirt. Eyes wide, he kept his fingers firmly on the wall. He didn't want to get lost down here.

"The light's right there," Marlene whispered. She took another step down, so they were on the same stair.

Suspiciously he asked, "Have you ever been down here before?"

Skittishly walking down another three stairs, Marlene edged around the corner, smiling uneasily. Her right hand kept waving back and forth until she finally took the last step off the stairs to the floor. She pulled the cord dangling from the ceiling so hard the light flickered on with a blinding flash and began swinging. The room was bathed in yellow light.

"Uh...sometimes?"

Denzel took that for a no. Then he was glad she wanted him to come down with her.

The room was huge, and there were columns in the middle, probably so the rest of the building didn't fall down. There weren't any cobwebs surprisingly, except for in the deepest, darkest corners. The light was the only one in the room, but it cast a nice glow to all of the dark wooden barrels filled with what Denzel guessed what wine. The barrels were supported by metal struts lining the walls. There was a strange smell coming from the air.

Marlene waved a hand, fear conveniently forgotten. "This is the cellar," she said proudly, "And it's what helps Tifa keep the bar open!"

Denzel saw a few other barrels that were different, and looked like giant vats. "It's pretty cool," he said, and meant it.

There was a fridge in the corner. Marlene's sneakers were tapping on the hard floor as she jaunted up to the cooler, and gently opened it. The light spread out onto her face. She emerged two seconds later with more root beer bottles in her hand.

"Let's go back upstairs," she commanded, pointing with her finger imperiously.

Denzel didn't need to be told twice. The basement, with all the huge shadows, was reminding him of the alleys he'd seen when he was little. The ones where people were sick. He stepped quickly back to the daylight.

His friend wasn't too far behind. She didn't even turn off the lights, judging from the flash from under the door frame. At the top of the stairs, Marlene gently handed him an icy-cold root beer.

"Want to see the rest of the house?" she asked, excited once more. He nodded, and she grabbed his hand, beginning to take him up the stairs. The wood creaked under their feet noisily, but it was a welcome sound to the quiet of the basement. It made Denzel feel like these stairs had been used forever.

Marlene suddenly stopped. Her brown eyes lovingly stared up at the high white-washed wall.

Curious, Denzel followed her gaze.

"This is my papa," she said seriously, tracing the frame. Her fingerprints showed on the spotless surface, showcasing the shining metal underneath. "He's not around a lot because he's working, but Tifa is nice and lets me live with her." She smiled.

Denzel stared in fascination at the picture. Her 'papa' was a dark-skinned black man, complete with neatly trimmed black hair around his ears, and thick muscles around his shoulders and arms. Dressed in dirty, oil-stained jeans and a button-down shirt, the man looked rough. He had a metal right hand. He was holding Marlene on his shoulders, smiling like he had no cares in the world. The name BARRET WALLACE was written in concise letters along the bottom of the frame.

_Marlene Wallace_, he realized. _Not Marlene Lockheart._

He noticed somewhat awkwardly that Marlene hadn't told him about her mother. Did she even have one? What if she'd died, just like Denzel's mom?

He became aware of huge brown eyes staring at him, gauging his reaction. He smiled wryly. "Your dad looks tough." When her face twisted slightly, he hastily said, "But he loves you." To illustrate his words, he pointed at the smile on Barret's face.

It reminded him of Cloud.

XXX

There was no way this was happening.

Cloud couldn't believe that he was here, with the girl he'd always admired. He felt normal, walking down the asphalt street in the warm mid-afternoon air.

He wondered what she would do if he reached out and held her hand.

After spending a handful of minutes walking around the plaza, smelling the pastries and the asphalt and the people inside the stores, Cloud was ready to return to the quiet, shaded street where Seventh Heaven rested. Tifa seemed mutually inclined. Without speaking, their feet went together, taking them back the way they'd come.

The woman at his side seemed so accomplished. A graduate, a successful bar owner, a role model...everything had worked for her. She was beautiful and kind and...

She was everything he'd ever wanted.

Cloud wasn't sure their meeting hadn't been planned, but he wasn't about ready to let it go. Even in high school, he'd been entranced by her brilliant light, her kindness. And in the terrifyingly numb memories of the hospital after the mako poisoning, she'd been there. He'd been too afraid to act then. Not now.

Tifa suddenly moved to the right, across the street. There was a bench in the shade, wooden and rickety. It was definitely big enough for both of them.

"Here, Cloud!" Tifa said, sinking onto the boards, patting the space next to her, "Take a load off." She gazed down the street; Seventh Heaven was barely visible through the heat mirage.

He loved the way she sat, careful and yet relaxed. Her long legs were toned and slightly tanned, while her arms were defined. The mako made him notice the leather skirt and the breezy scarlet shirt. Looking up at him through wide eyes, she smiled. The picture was so perfect, he wasn't sure he could move any closer without scaring her off with his eyes.

Quietly, he sat next to her. Her personal smell, along with vanilla and wine, wafted to his nose. He smiled, looking down. Cloud was studying the grains of the wood, long, lithe fingers tracing them. For all their complexity, they were still pieces of the wood, pieces of the bench, which was itself a piece of the street. Strange, how they could all be connected.

At his side, Tifa asked hesitantly, "Cloud, do you remember me visiting you in the hospital? At all?"

There was a rush of images, not all of them good. The feeling of panic as she grabbed his hand too tight, the anger as she opened the shades to allow light to pierce his sensitive eyes, the distrust as her smile didn't reach her eyes. Cloud took a breath, awkwardly running a hand through the back of his hair.

"I do. It was...confusing."

He glanced at her, uncomfortably.

She was standing up to the full force of his eyes. Instead of backing down, frightened, her hand came to his shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

"Can I ask...what happened? Where did you go?" the woman gently nudged him with her shoulder, trying to lighten the mood, "Would you mind telling me?" Her smile was sincere, framed by her dark, beautiful hair.

In response, Cloud let a small smile slip. He had known this would come up; Tifa needed to know things. She had done the same thing in high school. Usually, he wouldn't think twice about leaving.

But...he trusted her.

He shrugged, piercing a small section of the concrete with his mako eyes. "I was alone on graduation night," he glanced at her, hoping she understood it meant nothing to him now, "I didn't want to stay. I stood up, walked out the doors, and left. I never went back to Nibelheim. I haven't since. Just lived under the plate. I don't even know what happened to Zack." He glanced at her, wondering if she'd possibly seen him.

"Zack is in Junon..." Tifa said with a shrug, "I never hear from him. I think he was working with a guy...Angeal? I can't remember." Encouragingly, she went silent, clearly ready to listen to him, without interrupting.

It was like a thunderstrike. Cloud realized that no one had ever asked him about himself. No one had ever sat with him, letting him tell whatever he wanted to say on his own time. And here, on a dusty street in Edge, he could get all the lurking thoughts out of his head, without fear of repercussion.

He nodded slowly. It was hard to remember everything, through the haze of pain. "I got to Costa del Sol by hitch hiking before coming to Midgar on a passenger ship. I figured there was enough slum that I could escape if I just kept under the plate. It took a few years-" _and a few wasted nights of alcohol_ "- before I found a job at Shin-Ra Power Company. The entire top floor needed a messenger, one who could go throughout Midgar quickly discretely."

"I delivered letters, packages...I thought the mako had just made everything in my body hurt. But...I was able to go longer distances far quicker. It was unnaturally good luck for delivering. It's why I have the business I do now. I'm good at it."

He studied his hands, especially the callouses near his thumbs. A soft wind thankfully cooled down his face. He peeked to his right.

Tifa shifted, leaning forward while her knees knocked together. She stared across the street with her face uplifted. She was smiling. Lazily, she brushed her hair back from her neck.

"You seem to be doing well, Cloud," she said, "That's a good thing. I'm not going to lie: I was worried about you, when you left."

"Me too," Cloud mumbled.

It reverted to a quiet silence, not uncomfortable, but filled with the many things still left unsaid. There wasn't a part of them that wanted to be apart, Cloud felt, and yet...it was difficult to regain so much lost time. How, when they had been so close before?

Tifa's voice wafted over to him. "What about…Denzel? How did you…?"

There was an embarrassed silence in which Cloud's hand massaged his temple. He didn't blame Tifa for being suspicious of his love life; he had been suspicious of hers, until she had explained Marlene's situation.

Cloud shook his head. "I found him," he answered quietly, "In a church. The mako inside...it makes me hear better. From outside, I heard a failing heartbeat. I usually would have continued on, but..." He ducked his head, remembering the fear in his bones as he watched his mother gasping for breath on her deathbed. He hadn't been ready for it to happen again. Especially when the heart had sounded like it belonged to someone very young. He continued, "I went in. Denzel was there, lying in a dirty pool of water. He was so sick he could barely breathe. I gathered him up, and took him to the hospital. It took him three long weeks, but somehow, the kid pulled through. I've raised him ever since. He's a good kid."

A smile formed on his face. He glanced at Tifa, noticing the way her beautiful face had softened.

"The mako let you hear him?" she asked, genuinely curious, "And it lets you drive super fast..." She laughed lightly, "There isn't anything you can't do."

_She doesn't know what it's like. It's hell. It's a burden._

He hardened. "Mako changes people."

XXX

She didn't like his implication.

Did he doubt that he was a good person? While she had no doubt the mako had changed his genetics or his body's functions, she didn't think it had changed who he was.

She tried to laugh it off. "What, it made you a great delivery-man?"

Cloud frowned. "What?"

Obviously, this was something he was still dealing with. Part of her tried to reject asking him if he thought he was a terrible person, but part of her wanted him to see what he had accomplished, despite the mako inside of him.

"You said it yourself, you're a better deliverer. Without the mako, you wouldn't have found Denzel either..." she peered at his eyes, trying to make him look at her, "...right? What's wrong with that?"

To her surprise, Cloud stood. He paced a few feet away, staring at the buildings. He crossed his arms, weight tipping as he leaned his frame against the half-metal, half-wood empty shop.

"What about you, Tifa? A bar-tender?"

Tifa was confused. What could he possibly mean, changing the conversation?

She shrugged. "It's something I wanted-"

With more emotion than she'd seen out of him, he turned, saying vehemently, "You had a life. You could have had anything you wanted." His eyes blazed like fire.

Tifa bit her lip, sighing. She let her arms fall onto her knees, clasping her hands together.

"Not everything."

When he remained silent, wordlessly trying to decode her cryptic meaning, she said, "Cloud, nobody gets everything they want. For the absolute pain and hardship that you've had to go through, you've done remarkably well. It's made you better. Stronger, physically and mentally." Standing to her full height next to him, she reached out, quickly taking his hand before she could think about it. "I will never go through what you've gone through. That makes you special."

She wanted to add "to me", but on the verge of being too much, she refused. Cloud needed support, not far-fetched romance.

No matter how much she had missed him, he still didn't know her. They needed to build their friendship back. They needed to be normal. To be supportive.

Cloud didn't say anything, but his eyes and the squeeze from his hand to hers told a different story.

The silence engulfed them, cruelly tightening its hold. Stalling, Cloud's slender hands gripped Tifa. She smiled up at him and willed him to speak to her.

His eyes were staring at her in an offhand manner. "I am like this forever."

Tifa shrugged, trying to calm her pounding heart. "I could deal with it, forever. We were friends once. Why can't we be again? Why do you think the mako matters to me?"

As if her words had soothed him, his warm grip relaxed, but not enough to let her go. It was like he was afraid of letting her go. He wasn't timid anymore.

"You and I..." Cloud suddenly said. His eyes were burrowing into hers, as if he wanted her to remember what he said. "We both have a business, we both have children that aren't ours, they go to the same school…"

"Can we be friends, now?" Tifa asked. "We have so many things in common!"

She punched his arm lightly. Instead of laughing it off, he didn't answer; there was only the quiet around her now. She lowered her head, trying to meet his eyes. "Cloud…"

"Tifa…" he said. His hands were warm, not cold like she remembered the mako being. Words were lost to him; she could see a thousand explanations running through his head. She sighed, finally giving in. Her arms went to his back, and hesitantly, she sank into him, letting all of the sorrow go. For the first time in years, she felt like this hug mattered.

"Tifa," he said, stronger than before, "Tifa, I'm sorry I left you behind."

The way her heart was beating, she was sure he could feel it. Or hear it.

It was everything she'd wanted to hear, ever since she had seen the empty hospital bed and had a hole burrowed through her heart. She'd wondered if she'd been a good friend, or if she'd failed him, somehow.

Pulling away, she gazed up at him. He met her eyes. While there was still uncertainty and defense for his eyes, they were warmer. More confident.

"Cloud," she said matter-of-factly, "You are now my friend. There will be no disappearing acts. We should probably get the kids and do things, together. You know, since Denzel needs to be around more."

When he smiled down at her, releasing the breath he'd been holding so he could laugh, she knew she had her answer.

She'd been reunited with her friend.

And she didn't think she'd be letting go any time soon.

XXX

Marlene continued to wave goodbye to Denzel long after the bike had faded into the gray light of dusk. The buildings were blotting out the sun, and the world was fading into exhaustion.

She couldn't believe that she had a new friend, one who liked to be around her. He had kept up with her at every opportunity, and after she'd forced him to color with her, he'd suddenly opened up.

After giving him a tour of the rest of the house, she'd shown him the dusty attic, where they'd found an old stuffed Chocobo, a handful of dishes and glasses, and a bunch of photos that meant absolutely nothing to either of them. They'd laughed at all the weird clothes and the way the hair was styled into long spikes and said they'd never be like that when they were old. They had colored comic books and had contests on who could color inside the lines the best, who could make the best hair color, and who could make the best knight into pink or blue. Denzel felt like he won most of them. Marlene was sure to tell him she won most of it. They'd started to run around the bar playing tag, and Marlene had loved the feeling of dodging just so around a table to avoid Denzel's hand. She loved chasing him even more. Bar patrons didn't play with her.

When Cloud and Tifa had come back inside, Marlene had managed to content herself with sitting. The two of them were quietly sitting on the couch, watching television. Denzel's eyes were closed, and Marlene had fallen to the side of the cushions, intently watching the cartoon. The adults settled in with the kids, and in comfortable silence, all of them had talked about the cartoons until dinner time.

She had never laughed so hard or so much after Denzel told a story about how he'd come home one day to find a bird flapping around the house. He'd tried to catch it, but couldn't. Cloud mentioned he'd come home to find Denzel trying to catch it with a pot and the lid.

She'd noticed the way that Cloud and Tifa exchanged looks periodically, and smiles far more often. What had happened on their walk? She really wanted to know. She made a note to ask Tifa.

Marlene couldn't believe how quickly the time flew, especially when they had dinner. Before she knew it, Cloud was putting on a heavy jacket for the ride and Denzel was lacing up his shoes. As the men stood to leave, Marlene hugged Denzel. She remember her heart pounding as she said, "Come back! Even though I'll definitely see you at school!"

He had smiled back at her.

It hadn't been a sad smile, or an awkward smile, but a smile full of hope and friendship.

Her brown eyes stared longingly toward Midgar.

She couldn't wait to see those boys again.

0

0


	5. I could deal with that, forever

"Did you get extra towels?" Tifa huffed, wiping away the thin layer of sweat on her forehead, "Last time we forgot them and were wet the entire trip home..." Her hands furiously dug through the closet. "Now where did I put the sunscreen...?"

With a sudden jolt, Marlene appeared. With the sunscreen bottle in her tiny hands.

Proud of her finding skills, she smiled broadly, then let it fall as Tifa continued to mutter to herself nervously, still half buried in the closet. Marlene knew what she was so scared about. This was the first trip with Cloud and Denzel along.

"I found the sunscreen, Tifa!" she called gently, hopping up and down. "Where are the towels?"

"Bathroom."

The girl raced up the stairs. "What eeeeeeelse?" Marlene sang, grabbing her pink towel, frowning as it unrolled. She hurriedly grabbed the other pink and red ones. Tifa's voice came as an unintelligible noise. The girl frowned, piling on five more towels just to be sure she had enough. "WHAT?"

She could barely walk straight, and she definitely couldn't see over the huge pile. "Tifa!"

Then, she was relieved by her burden by a tall, Chocobo-haired man. Marlene sighed with a "whoof!", then hugged his waist under his arms full of pretty-colored towels.

From far above her, Cloud asked, "Pink towels?"

Marlene scowled at him, "If you don't like them, they're all for me!" Tutting, she strode out the door.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Tifa was now rooting through the fridge, saying, "Ham. Cheese...lettuce..." as she handed the items to Denzel, who stoically put them into a cooler with ice lining the bottom. His face was interested as the food passed through his hands into the destination. They would certainly be eating a lot. Marlene got excited. Food on the beach was the best.

"Hi Denzel!"

The boy waved, quietly repeating her hello. She began asking him all about the animals they would see. He kept her entranced with stories about seagulls in the cliffs, sharks right up to the water line, and monsters clambering all around on the sand that they'd have to fight. She was getting entranced in his stories when Tifa finally shut the refrigerator.

"Well, we'll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow if we eat all that!" she laughed, wiping her forehead off. "Thanks for helping me, Denzel."

"Of course," the boy said. Marlene wondered if he was afraid of her because the older woman was so pretty.

The Chocobo-haired man appeared in the doorway. "Bike's locked in the garage," Cloud said, "I moved the van out front."

The woman sighed in relief. "Thank you. I know I'm forgetting something else...I just can't remember what."

Cloud went to Tifa's side. At her flustered smile, he engulfed her in the circle of his arms, then stepped back. He grabbed the cooler and dragged it out the front door towards the van.

Marlene watched the exchange, suddenly excited to think that maaaybe Tifa and Cloud had kissed. Or maybe they hadn't. 

What would it be like if Cloud and Tifa got married? It had only been three and a half months since they'd reunited, but obviously they loved each other. Cloud had a key to the bar now; he often dropped Denzel and her off after school if Tifa was too busy. Tifa would do the same thing. They all had numerous get togethers at each other's houses, eating and dancing and watching movies. Tifa relied on Cloud now.

Marlene liked being able to talk to him, although he didn't say too much back. He was kinda like her Papa.

Her face brightened. Papa said he would be coming to register her in school. He said he'd stay for a while at the bar, and they'd go get ice cream and go on walks and go visit his funny friend Biggs under one of the plates. She wanted him to meet Cloud. She thought he'd like the quiet man.

Tifa parked herself right in front of the children, who jumped. Cloud had also returned. He was taking off his shirt.

In her hands was the dreaded bottle of sunscreen.

Marlene sighed. Knowing what was coming, she took off her shirt, glad that she was wearing her orange and pink one-piece swimming suit. It was bright as the sun, and it made her happy. Tifa would have to help her with the stupid chemicals.

"Why do we have to put sunscreen on now?" Marlene asked, placing a large splot on her forearm and rubbing it in furiously.

Tifa sighed, taking the lotion bottle and spreading it all over the girl's back, rubbing it in carefully. "Well, you see, when we get there, the first thing I want to do is run into the water. Thus, swimsuits and sunscreen on now. We'd have to wait until the sunscreen was dry before we went in."

Behind where Cloud was rubbing in his own sunscreen on his bare chest, Denzel didn't look too sure.

"Why?" he asked. "It'll probably wash off anyway."

Tifa winked. "We'll just have to put more on."

"Noooooooooo..." Marlene whined, turning only to make a face as Tifa rubbed even more of the white stuff onto her face. It made her skin shiny and smelly. She hated it.

The children began chattering, mostly about the animals on the beach. Marlene, dripping in white sunscreen as Tifa rubbed it gently into her back, was adamant that sea lions were the nicest creatures she'd ever seen. Denzel was completely sure they were blood-thirsty slugs, determined to lounge all day and eat other animals. Both began asking Cloud and Tifa for opinions. Both adults shook their heads and refused to answer other than: "Hold still. Almost done."

Finally covered, Tifa began ticking off things she'd packed. Food, towels, sunscreen, water, dry clothes, beach clothes, a blanket, an umbrella...

_We're already an hour late_, she thought, sighing impatiently. _I'm ready to go._

Tifa stretched, then pointed to the door. "Okay, everybody! Into the van!" As Denzel and Marlene's eyes lit up and they began shouting and running to the front door, nearly tripping over each other, Tifa checked the garage door's locks, shut the blinds, and turned on the security system. She also wandered to the hallway and shut the door, just in case.

Cloud watched her tidily check the house. When she caught him staring, he simply walked out the sunlit door to the van.

Sighing, she followed, playing with the keys in her hand. Paranoid, she locked the ancient door behind her. The deadbolt clicked with a satisfying thud. Tifa gazed affectionately at her home, praying nobody would bother with it all day today. She turned to the ugly brown van.

The kids were already buckled in, and Cloud was now just getting into the passenger's seat, obviously cajoling them to put on their seat belts. Tifa jogged over, feeling sweat dripping down her nose. Terrible.

She threw herself into the van. There was so much noise and complaining about not leaving, she nearly blew up. Instead, she took a deep breath and turned on the machine, thrusting it into gear.

"And we're off," she sighed.

Next stop, the beach.

XXX

"You needed to take that exit," Cloud said.

Tifa snorted in frustration. "The next one is closer. I've been here before, you know."

"But you have to back-track. Quicker just to go through town."

"There are less cars this way."

In the seat behind her, Marlene was nearly bouncing into the window she was so excited to see the sand. "Where is it? Tifa! How long, how long?" She was smiling. "Will there be dolphins and whales there?" Denzel smiled at her, as he had the whole car trip.

Cloud turned away, arms folding across his chest. "We needed to get them out of here quicker. It's been two hours already."

_He sounds just like them!_ Tifa thought, hands gripping the wheel tighter. Hadn't she warned them about how long it would be? Remembering Marlene had asked her a question, she replied, "No. No whales. It's going to be five more minutes." Gently, she eased the van off the main road to a dirt path.

Although it was bumpy and it did take them longer, Tifa pulled into the rocky parking lot ten minutes later, filled with a few cars. The wind-swept grasses swayed gently. She put the car into park, turned it off, and ignoring Cloud for a moment, she laughed excitedly, "Who's ready for the beach!"

Denzel unbuckled his seat belt and Marlene wasn't far behind. The doors swung open with enough force to rock the van. The kids began screaming.

Tifa leaped out after them, yelling, "Don't go into the water yet! Wait a moment!"

Cool breezes flowed over the waves. The kids were already halfway to the water, throwing off their shirts and yelling about swimming. Further down the beach, there were a few umbrellas keeping fellow beach-goers cool. Tifa's heart began pounding. It was just like she'd always remembered.

A broad hand stopped her from turning back and unloading the car. Cloud quietly said, "I'll find a place on the beach. You go." He pushed her away.

Tifa began running after the children, waving apologetically back to the handsome man. He was smiling as he turned. She took a deep breath. The weather had turned out for the better; there wasn't a cloud in the beautiful blue sky, and the sun was shining, warming the sand under her feet into hot, comfortable cushions.

Her feet began pounding down the shore.

It took her three minutes to make it to the water, mainly because she had to keep bending to gather her children's random clothes. She tried to keep them in a pile. Watching them scream and run through the spray, she smiled contently.

She chucked the clothes, sand flying upon impact. Yelling, she ran into them, scooping both of them into her arms. They began yelling incomprehensibly back at her, Marlene's large green eyes wide and Denzel's brown suddenly very, very scared. Tifa let her legs fold into the spray, letting the warm water splash up her pale skin.

"Tiiiiiiiiiifa!" shrieked Marlene, pink swimming suit a beacon against the tan sand.

Denzel helped her up, then ran farther into the ocean, belly flopping into the hard waters. When his head popped back up, the curly hairs were plastered flat to his face, streaming salty water. He was laughing.

Marlene began laughing too, "Wait, wait, wait! I want to go!" She fought the current to stand, and began to run toward Denzel. She grabbed his hand, and they jumped into the water together, hands clenched.

Tifa held her knees to her chest. The sun shone down in waves from above her, reflecting the blue water back upon her face. Goosebumps flushed her skin. She rose into a crouch, sinking to her knees, and then slapping the water as it brushed her wrists.

Grinning, and wondering to herself why she was still mostly dry, Tifa called, "Not too far out!" Following Marlene and Denzel, who had gone another four feet out toward the riptide, Tifa leaped out to them, splashing for all her worth. The water sprang to life, flowing over the two children, finishing off any dry skin it could find. The smell of the salt overwhelmed Tifa's senses.

She remembered playing on the beach a summer ago with Marlene. Her face had hurt because she had smiled so much.

The kids, hanging onto her arms, jerked, sending her down into the water. She managed a gulp of air before she went under, thrashing under their weight. The water forced her a step back, waves making it hard for her to move her legs. When she erupted from the surface, she dragged Denzel into a headlock, laughing.

"Cloud!" he grunted.

Within the next second, Tifa felt arms suddenly embrace her. They were warm, thick, and dry. A part of her stomach flipped.

Denzel was flopping in her arms, while Tifa suddenly found Marlene squished into her body. Cloud's arms held all of them together in a huge circle. Laughing uncontrollably, the dark haired woman felt Cloud began to wade further out into the ocean, water splashing all of their legs and feet.

And then he dropped them.

The warm water hit Tifa's face. She could feel Marlene thrashing in the water around her, so the older woman tried to lift her to the surface. Once her own head broke free, gasping for breath and still holding Denzel, she made sure all the children were breathing properly. It wouldn't do to have them all have to go home because someone had been having too much fun.

Tifa unlocked Denzel from her arms when she was sure he was fine and promptly pushed him into the water, turning to Cloud.

Her heart pounded. It wasn't just from holding her breath.

Her eyes swept over the man's thick shoulders, his chest, down to his toned stomach. Muscles, taunt and curled from lifting packages and his heavy bike, stretched. His skin was glowing in the hot sun, streaked with sea water. A healthy head of blonde hair stuck up, blown even higher by the sea breezes. His blue eyes were like beacons of joy.

Cloud Strife was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. She shivered.

Within a second, he was so close to her she could feel his breath puffing her forehead. "Eyes up here," he whispered into her right ear. Her cheeks burned. His hands reached out to lock her wrists. Impulsively, Tifa gazed up into his face.

He was smiling, white teeth brilliant against his tan. He was also trying very hard not to look down the lines of her collarbone, along her strong shoulders, slipping down her waist, admiring the way the scarlet bikini dipped and slunk around her waist.

"You're one to talk!" she giggled. Her right ankle hooked out, sending Cloud stumbling as his balance went off. She jerked her wrists free. To the children, she pointed, "Let's get him!"

It hardly took convincing. Denzel, scrawny arms stretched, body slammed into Cloud, yelling wildly, "Hurry!" Within a flash, Marlene was clambering over Denzel, settling herself onto Cloud's shoulders; her eyes were wide with sheer delight. Tifa found herself making sure Cloud's head was above the water, although she did take the opportunity to keep his arms firmly away from the surface of the water.

Cloud simply stood, shaking everyone off.

_We look like ducks standing around in the water_, Tifa thought. Then she giggled.

Marlene had caught sight of some seagulls further down the beach, their white feathers and narrow beaks definitely different than the crows and small birds around the city. The girl was drawn to them. She began running towards them, her voice unintelligible against the noise of the sand.

Tifa laughed, gently pushing Denzel on the back after her. He looked just as excited.

The two adults stood there, in the harsh noon sun, watching the kids creep closer and closer to the birds. The prankster animals seemed to wait until the two huge beings were close, then simply run or flap their wings lazily until they were a mere twenty feet away. The process kept happening even when Marlene crawled closer on her hands and knees.

Tifa found herself exchanging an amused glance with Cloud.

She smiled. "Did you find us a place?"

"Over there." He pointed with a finger towards the slope, where the cooler and towels were under their huge umbrella.

It had been set down calmly and neatly, not thrown helter skelter like Marlene would have. Tifa suddenly realized this was her first adventure with someone other than the small, intrepid girl. All the sudden, she didn't have to worry or do all the thinking.

Gratefully, she said, "I cannot thank you enough for coming." She felt shy. Determined to overcome it, she forced herself to wind her hand around Cloud's bicep, tugging him down the beach towards the kids.

To her shock, he shook her hand free, like it was an unwanted irritant.

To her delight, his hand grabbed hers, letting their fingers interlaced.

"Thanks."

Tifa peered up at his angular face. "For what?"

Cloud shrugged. "For inviting me. For letting me be a part of..." He gazed out at the children. "This."

She wasn't sure if he was just referring to her inviting him. However, she didn't want to push too far. She frowned for one second, then swept all the terrible feelings away.

Hands still holding loose and comfortable, the two walked along the wet sand, footprints fading as the tide rolled in. They were quiet. Every once in a while, Tifa would glance toward Cloud. She caught him doing the same.

It was fifteen minutes later when they finally caught up with the kids. The two were drawing their outlines with huge driftwood and water logged sticks, and plastering seaweed to the top of the outlines. Denzel looked slightly queasy as Marlene dragged a blob of moss from one of the rocks and splattered it on her outline's head.

"Tifa!" she yelled, "Look at me! I'm filled with moss!"

Tifa had to stifle a laugh at the excited girl's finger pointing at the outline. "I wouldn't have thought to use seashells as a necklace." She sank to her knees in the damp sand, hand sliding from Cloud's. He walked to the children, admiring the pieces of artwork.

Smiling at the sight he made, Tifa returned her gaze to the sand. Her fingers began to lift and shape the coarse grains under her fingers; she dug a half an arm's length down, then began piling the damp sand upright with her hands into walls. Denzel trotted by before running to get another stick for his outline on the sand.

Piece by piece, Tifa erected a castle in the sand, towers and bridge complete. Stones and shells were carefully stuck into the walls as decoration. The castle itself wasn't tall; it was more of a mound with carved holes for windows. Water began seeping through the ground, causing the bridge to fall several times. Tifa carefully rebuilt it.

By the time she was finished, her knees were sore from being bent for so long. Marlene and Denzel had tired of their outlines and were in the water, trying to body surf on the waves while Cloud remained close at hand, every once in a while grabbing them by the scruff as if they were small kittens. He was a natural with them. He would splash in the waves with them, eyeing them so they didn't drown. Denzel's smile was broad, and Marlene's laughter was infectious as they played with the quiet man.

Tifa smiled, pillowing her head in her arms.

_Good day._

XXX

Cloud could feel the water splashing between his ears into his brain. He'd been in the water that long.

Gazing after the children running up the sand dune, he found himself smiling. Marlene had wanted to surf, like she'd seen people do on the television, but without a board, it had been useless. Instead, Cloud had showed them how to hold their breath and stay as flat as they could on the surface on the water, so when the waves came in, their whole body would rise and fall with it. There had been lots of sputtering water from nostrils until Cloud realized how ridiculous that was. Then, the three of them had canonballed and jumped and splashed like they were toddlers in the tub.

Now, he could barely move.

Double checking on Marlene and Denzel, he found them rolling down the sand hills, squealing in laughter. They'll be fine, he decided. His eyes flickered to the right.

Tifa was sitting there, arms resting on her bent knees. Her hair was nearly black in the mid-afternoon sun. Huge scarlet eyes watched him draw nearer to her, and her smile soon followed, brighter than the white seashells on Marlene's sand person.

He tried not to think as he walked towards her, towering over her. She smiled in greeting.

"What are you doing...?" she asked curiously.

Hesitating, he fell into her, gently but firmly rolling over her. Her laughter was breathless, probably because his body weight had squeezed all the air from her lungs. His left hand found her arm, and he pulled her after him, guiding her to his right hip. She molded there like a second skin.

"What-?!" Tifa laughed, slapping his abdominal muscles quickly, "Why did you do that?"

"I'm tired," he said, then realizing how callous he sounded, he raised his head so he could meet her eyes seriously. "Did I hurt you?"

Tifa gave him a strange look. "Of course not."

"Oh. Good." He let his head lower to the sand.

Eventually, the woman at his side laid her head upon his shoulder, her dark hair hot against his skin. Being curled into him in her scarlet swimming suit let plenty of her bare skin touch his. It reassured him of reality; he would have never been able to dream of this time. Tifa smiled against his skin. He let her.

The duo was quiet, listening to the static of the waves arriving and departing on the loose earth. Cloud felt like he belonged there, part of the sand, part of the sky, and part of life. He wondered at how he had come to this exact moment in time.

How had he been so lucky to reunite with Tifa?

How much had he grown as a man since he had taken Denzel as his son? Would he ever know?

How close would he get to Marlene, now that he was a part of her life?

Cloud wasn't sure how long they lied there, as if they were...together...but somewhere, inside of him, he realized this was it. This was what he wanted. Forever.

He raised his head off the pillow of sand, fingers still resting on the curve of Tifa's waist and hip. Smiling genuinely at the woman, he touched her face with his finger.

Her eyes opened ever so slowly, and they were soft, and sure. A faint grin came to her full lips, and with a teasing glare, her hand stroked Cloud's jaw. He grinned.

"Let me sleep," she whispered playfully, "You make such a comfortable pillow." Despite her complaint, she glanced towards the shore where two small, inconspicuous figures were leaping about, screaming with laughter. Mako eyes followed her gaze, and he shifted, shaking his head in amusement as he laid his head back down onto the boiling sand.

They watched the two figures continue to frolic. Cloud was especially proud to notice that Denzel had grabbed a bucket of cold seawater and was chasing Marlene around, screaming at the top of his lungs. She was laughing, trying desperately to escape the water, and the boy. It ended badly, with a very wet Marlene chasing the boy with a stick. Smiles spread across their young faces.

Cloud admired the two's ceaseless energy, breathing in Tifa's scent. The fiery sun was brilliant, painting happiness onto the faded beach.

"When do you think those two will want food?" he asked quietly.

Tifa groaned, snuggling into his shoulder. "Don't let them hear you. They'll be here in two seconds."

Like they had been summoned, Denzel and Marlene came dragging themselves across the sand dune, panting. While their faces weren't lobster red, they were definitely pink. Tifa grinned and sat up, disentangling herself from Cloud.

Falling onto her surrogate mother's lap, Marlene said, "Can we have something to eat?"

Gently pulling seaweed out of the small girl's hair, Tifa nodded, ordering them to drink more water also. Everyone managed the impossible task of getting to their feet, and they began walking back towards the small camp that Cloud had set up further down the beach.

Upon arrival, both the children lurched over to the cooler, hands rummaging for the bottles of water and the bread. Pulling out the plastic plates, they began assembling sandwiches, chattering the whole while about how famished they were. Marlene was in charge of the cheese and meat while Denzel was placing lettuce and tomatoes on top, carefully making sure nothing fell onto the sand.

"Make me one," Cloud said. At Tifa's nudge, he amended, "Please." The two of them sat side by side on the blanket.

The kids were too tired to object. They simply began making more. Over eight sandwiches were beginning to pile up on the flimsy plates.

Seriously? Tifa thought, How hungry are we?

Quietly, the blonde picked up her tanned hand, holding it between his. The two of them were encircling each other; his head was resting on her smooth leg, even as she shifted, giving him a critical eye.

Those red eyes pierced his.

Denzel walked over, and slapped two sandwiches onto Cloud's stomach. The older man jerked in surprise, broken from his intense gaze. His son gently handed Tifa and Marlene one, then retreated with the other four.

"Hey!" Marlene said, offended, "Gimme another sandwich!" She stood, eyeing the stack of meat and cheese sandwiches.

Cloud merely glanced down at Denzel, raising his eyebrows in feigned shock. He shook his blonde head wordlessly, eyes flickering with barely contained amusement. Tifa had already begun to giggle when he cleared his throat.

"Since I am older, I get the sandwich."

"Yeah right! When cuckoos fly out of my butt!"

Tifa's eyes widened dramatically as she took a sip of water. "They do?"

"No!" Marlene giggled in spite of herself. Then, she lunged at Denzel, managing to spray sand all over the towels. Yelping, the boy ran, saving only two parts of his lunch. Marlene triumphantly returned, giving Tifa the other sandwich. "We're equal this way," she stated matter-of-factly.

Tifa thanked her gravely, and kept eating her first sandwich. Cloud dug in. It was slightly gritty, and it tasted like heaven after having salty water in her mouth for most of the early afternoon. From the sounds of agreement, Marlene was satisfied with inhaling his sandwiches as well. Denzel returned, hair curling into waves from the heat. Everyone flopped on the ground, exhausted.

Within two minutes, all the sandwiches had vanished and the drinks consumed. Tifa smiled up at Cloud. He felt his heart melt.

Marlene stretched. Denzel knocked his feet together a few times before gazing up at the adults. He expectantly stared at them.

"Well...what now?"

XXX

Tifa herded her people towards the ugly brown van, alternating between threats and pleads to get the two rambunctious children, piles of random beach stuff, and one perfect sand dollar inside. The noise was deafening; she was glad it was nearly dark, and there were no busybodies to yell at her to leave quicker.

She could feel her face was hot. Sunburnt to a crisp then. Checking the kids quickly, she saw they were red as lobsters.

_Everyone will be regretting that later_, she thought with a grin.

Cloud opened the trunk with one hand while setting the chairs neatly inside, then the cooler, and the bag full of sandy and salt-infused clothes and towels on top. The kids, whining, watched him from the backseat of the car, noses peeking over the edge.

"Why do we have to go?"

"Why can't we live here all the time?"

"When are we coming back?"

"Can't we just sleep over now and go home tomorrow?"

"Yeah! Let's just stay the night!"

"Please, Tifa? Pleeeeeease?"

Her ears were nearly falling off. Instead, she smiled. If the kids wanted to come back, the trip had definitely been a success. Playing in the water, burying Marlene to her head in the sand, running around chasing the gulls...She and Cloud would have to plan another adventure, maybe just before school started. Glancing at him, she saw the small smile of contentment on his face.

The wind had picked up and the cold was cutting through her still-wet suit. Hair flying everywhere, Tifa hesitated at the empty beach. What if she'd forgotten something?

"I'll check." Cloud began walking away.

Hopping into the driver's seat, Tifa shuddered, turning up the heater until the warm air was strong enough to blow her hair back in rippling waves. The kids stopped complaining, bouncing off the walls, began quizzing her about how long it would take to get back, whether they'd all get to sleep over again, what they could have for breakfast... Marlene's arms were flapping from under her blanket, pretending she was the gull they had chased earlier. Denzel laughed and snorted. Tifa let it wash through her ears. She stared at Cloud's shadow fade into darkness.

Three and a half months since they'd literally bumped into each other at the kids' school. Three and a half months of awkward talks melting into warm embraces. Three and a half months of waiting for him to kiss her.

She hadn't pushed. She wanted him to want to.

Her heart pounded just thinking about it.

Shaking those thoughts away, she said, "Buckle up, kiddos! We're hitting the road!" She put her own seat belt on, saying, "Next stop, home!"

They groaned, sitting down and clicking the metal buckles. Denzel's legs began tapping. Marlene yawned. "Where's Cloud?"

His blonde hair was a flash through the headlights. Tifa merely pointed. She revved it as Cloud slipped inside. Their eyes met; both took an amused deep breath and sighed. The kids mocked them by huffing and whooshing air from their lungs, muttering to each other about how it would take forever to get back.

"Why are you not shivering?" Tifa demanded playfully to her co-pilot, "It's turning into snow out there!"

Cloud shrugged. "It's not raining. Or cold enough to snow."

Not surprised at his lack of any funny response, Tifa muttered under her breath, and turned to look over her shoulder to back up. The wheel was soft and firm under her fingers, and she expertly began to drive back through town toward Edge. The kids began teasing her about not hitting any of the "other cars". There were no other cars in the lot.

"Do you think the poor birds have places to sleep?" Marlene asked, eyes staring off into the darkness. "What about the babies? Are they afraid of the dark?"

Tifa smiled, glancing in the rear view mirror before turning onto the main road. "Oh no, not with their moms and dads around! They feel very safe." The woman stared at the clock, suddenly dismayed. It was ten o' clock! By the time they would get back, it would nearly be midnight.

As Denzel began quizzing Marlene about where, what, how, and who the gulls ate, Cloud gently put a hand on her right shoulder. Not disturbing the children's conversation, he said, "Get halfway. I can drive from then."

She was relieved. Exhaustion was already setting in. "Thanks," she whispered back.

"No, no, no. Gulls are predators. They totally eat the crabs."

"Well, I didn't see them eating the poor little crabbies. How could they have, with all the... hand grippers?"

"Claws?" Denzel snorted.

"Yea!" Marlene let out a massive yawn, cuddling her head into the blanket and leaning against the van's door. "They'd get hurt."

The boy slumped, putting his feet up on the middle armrest, his toes shocking Cloud's elbow with static. Denzel was too tired to even notice. "No way. The birds pick them up and throw them." He began staring out the window, watching the city's lights come closer.

"Do not..." Marlene's eyes closed. The road was lulling her into sleep.

Denzel frowned. "Why are you so stubborn?" he grumbled. Clearly, he needed sleep.

For a few minutes, there was only mutterings back and forth. Marlene seemed to be talking in her sleep, but Denzel answered back like she was truly asking. Both the kids continued to sink lower and lower until Tifa couldn't see them in the mirror anymore.

Silence.

Sharing a knowing smile with the other quiet adult, Tifa smiled, cracking her stiff back. She didn't want to disturb the peaceful exhaustion setting in. Even Cloud had leaned his head back further than usual against the headrest, although he was trying to stay awake with her.

"I'm glad they enjoyed our trip," Tifa whispered, noticing a sign in the dark that directed her toward Edge, "Thanks for being my moral support."

The soft, warm look Cloud gave her suddenly made up for all of his silence. Her smile widened completely larger than life.

"I wouldn't have missed it." He tried to sit straight, but he began slumping just like the kids. He was tired.

"Go to sleep," Tifa smiled, "I'll wake you halfway back."

Cloud's voice came chagrined from the window, "Sure." Then, everyone in her car was out like a light. Tifa prepared for the long drive to home.

XXX

It was strange that he'd memorized these streets not even a week after first coming into Edge. Right, straight, left, right off the truck and civilian routes. Then, there was Seventh Heaven, rising up in the gloom, windows sparkling in the yellow light of the streetlamps.

Cloud peered at Tifa's beautiful face in the light. Settled in the passenger's seat now, she was relaxed, and the bags around her eyes were receding. Midnight hair was wind-blown and sandy, but even if it was matted, it looked effortlessly beautiful. He wished he could still feel her warm skin under his hand, hear her voice teasing him.

He didn't know how he had found her again, but this time, he was not going to let her go.

Cloud gently pulled into the garage, closing the door with the small button in the van. All around him, people were stirring. Marlene sat bolt upright, but grumbled, "We...home?" Tifa nodded, fingers rubbing her eyes tiredly.

There was no way these kids were going to make it up the stairs without prompting. Cloud got out and walked to their doors, opening them. "Come on, upstairs," he ordered softly, hands gently urging them to undo their seat belts, "The faster you get there, the faster you get to sleep."

Denzel stumbled out, holding the huge pink towel around his head. Eyes half open, he yawned, "We aren't going back tonight?"

The older man hesitated. He hadn't even asked Tifa. Glancing at her, he saw her head shaking, concern on her face. "I don't mind. Stay here," she whispered, loud enough so he could hear. Turning back to the boy, he said, "There's that extra bedroom. I'll sleep on the couch." His big hands urged his son toward the inner door leading into the kitchen. "Bathroom. Bed."

The tiny girl was next. She hadn't even twitched from her cocoon of blanket. Cloud grinned wryly despite himself, reaching in to unbuckle her. Cradling her in his arms, he slipped past Tifa, who was hauling the cooler back inside. In the darkness, Tifa, the love of his life, had on a face he'd never seen before as she watched him. He pushed the feelings in his chest back until the job was done.

Like a shadow, he slipped through the door and the empty bar, taking Marlene all the way up to her bedroom. He roused her, pulling out her pajamas from the dresser. "Get changed, bathroom, and into bed," he said loudly, trying to wake her up. Flopping her arms, she began stripping without warning. Cloud shook his head in exasperation and left as quickly as he could, shutting the door.

The light was on in the bathroom. Denzel was brushing his teeth like a corpse, eyes wrinkling against the bright light. He spit and stumbled into the spare room with a wave. "Night..." he grumbled upon seeing Cloud waiting like a ghost in the hallway. The door was shut louder than usual, probably because Denzel didn't care. Cloud waited until he heard the drawers with Denzel's excess clothes open and shut.

As the man descended back down the stairs, he remembered Tifa's glowing face.

She had been so warm and bubbly on the beach, but wasn't she always? No, something was different, all day. He wasn't sure what it was.

It could have been simply being outdoors. It could have been seeing and playing with the kids, relaxing for a day. It could have...been him.

He smiled.

Tifa wasn't in the kitchen, although the ice pack was still sitting out. Hefting it into the freezer, he went exploring through the house. It was too large and too quiet, especially with just the two women living in it. He worried about them sometimes; the windows weren't reinforced, and if somebody wanted to, they could break the frail glass with a hefty brick.

Cloud found Tifa in the living room, sitting straight up on the couch. Quickly, he sat skin to skin, knee to knee with her, content as she slumped into him with a giant sigh. She molded perfectly to his body as they slouched against the backrest. He could smell the sea and the sand and the sweat in her black locks.

Out of nowhere, she said slowly, "Cloud, I don't know how I've managed without you for this long."

His heart skipped a beat. To know that she could handle herself yet enjoyed his company was one thing. Hearing her admit that she needed him in some way made the difference of a lifetime.

He wanted to talk.

Those years of minding his own business and refusing to burden other people seemed wasteful, when he could have been sharing his life with this woman. This couldn't be a relationship solely because he had liked her in high school, he thought panicked. What if she thought it was?

"I don't want it to be a summer fling."

Tifa's face moved. He couldn't tell if it was a smile or frown.

"What?"

He sighed, pressing his lips into her hair, warm fingers touching her neck. He found he didn't want to leave her for one second.

"This...you. Me. I want to stick around. I want...I want to be here," he cursed under his breath softly, wishing it would come out better, "I don't want it to be over."

"..." Tifa straightened slowly, eyes curious, "Do you think it is?"

"No," Cloud fiercely said, hand coming up to caress her cheek.

She was a goddess in the darkness. All warm and good and Tifa. It was like she was...waiting.

He readjusted, face coming close to hers. All his dreams of them _writhingtwistingscreamingsmilingholdingherclose_ made it hard to focus. His fingers trailed up to her hair. He could taste her hitching breath.

Softly, he kissed her. Her lips were wide, curling into a smile. It wasn't earth shattering, but he could feel it through every part of his body. Her lower lip pressed against his again. He deepened the kiss, opening her mouth with his tongue. His veins began tingling.

Her hands circled around his lower back, pulling him closer to her. He pressed more of his body weight into her, suddenly bringing his lips together, fighting her for control. Taking a breath through her nose, she made a satisfied noise from under him that sent all the right messages to all the right parts of his body. How had he ended up on top of her?

Shuddering, he whispered, "I didn't – don't want to screw anything up."

Her scarlet eyes twinkled. "The only way you're screwing anything up," she said gently, "is by trying to push me away." Wickedly, she pecked his lips, grinning as she pulled away.

Her bare skin against his was hot. Sunburn. He thrust himself back to her, lips capturing hers into a harder, stronger kiss. She groaned, hips moving up to his. Her legs locked around his waist, muscles flexing to get him to move. When he pulled away to leave a trail of hot kisses down her neck, she whispered, "I want you to move in."

He nodded. "Probably just for this, huh?" He laughed out loud, realizing how complicatedly nice it had just gotten. How much he had suddenly gained.

She giggled. "That's the only reason I keep you around."

Smiling, he said seriously, "I'd like to be around for more. I..." He didn't know how to say everything he wanted to be a part of: the bar, deliveries, trips, a daughter in Marlene, a son in Denzel, Tifa...

Tifa kissed him. Her eyes were slowly closing, despite the want to stay up into the early hours of the morning doing unspeakable things to him.

"Then stay."

Cloud smiled. Now that they'd been reunited, he wouldn't ever leave. Scooting her frame to the edge of the couch, he laid down behind her, spooning her strong frame. She giggled. His arm wrapped around her.

Reunited, finally.

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**Author's Note:**

> Originally uploaded under Lisilgirl on Fanfiction.net on Oct. 2, 2007; new version uploaded on Oct. 7, 2012.


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